Location: Marseille, France
Date: February 2019 – Present
Customer: AtmoSud (AirPACA) / CETU (Tunnel Studies Centre)
Objective: To determine the link between ventilation and dispersion of the pollution at the end of the tunnel and to determine the most effective protocol for activation of the ventilation systems based on real-time air quality levels, inside and outside the tunnel.
Deployment: Eight AQMesh pods were installed in February 2019, monitoring nitrogen oxides NO and NO2, in an innovative experiment in one of the covered sections of the L2 ring road in Marseille. Called “Boreas project”, after legendary ‘dispersing’ winds, this study aims to use pollution measurements near tunnel entrances to activate in-tunnel fans.
Results: The L2 ring road in Marseille consists of a succession of covered tunnels over 12Km in dense urban areas. The phased project at the Montolivet South tunnel heads will implement a system for the conditional triggering of in-tunnel fans to evaluate its impact on air quality in the zones adjacent to the nearest residents. This approach was tested in 2018, with micro-sensor readings compared at the AirPACA Kaddouze monitoring station. A first phase analyses the pollution without activation of the ventilation system, then a second phase with ventilation.
Project website: https://www.atmosud.org/actualite/projet-boree-experimenter-un-dispositif-doptimisation-de-la-ventilation-pour-preserver-les
Full news article: Read here.