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“Modernization of the Jules Verne wind tunnel in 7 months”

Jules Verne wind tunnel facility post-upgrade. Sketch: Arch IC. Ceris Ingenierie

It is the only wind tunnel in the world that can test building components, civil engineering works, cars, trains, wind turbines, industrial machines and equipment under the most extreme weather conditions. Temperature, rain, wind, ice, snow, sand, heat, dust and more. The CSTB’s Jules Verne wind tunnel – an international research infrastructure for full-scale climate simulation – can be adapted to emerging challenges and assist stakeholders with their scientific and industrial projects. A large-scale project to upgrade the wind tunnel, starting in June 2018, represents an ambitious investment by the CSTB, with support from the Pays de la Loire regional government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The wind tunnel will be enlarged, with new equipment as well as digital and experimental resources. The spaces reserved for clients and partners are also being refurbished. The completely modernized Jules Verne wind tunnel will reopen in early 2019.

The modernization of the Jules Verne wind tunnel mobilized regional, national and international funding to offer stakeholders in innovation and research an advanced facility capable of meeting the technical and scientific challenges raised by current ecological, energy and digital transitions.

  • Working alongside the Pays de la Loire authorities and regional stakeholders, the CSTB is contributing to the creation and development of local economic, scientific and production activities.
  • In collaboration with French authorities, European Horizon 2020 researchers, and several leading international laboratories in Canada, Japan and Russia, for example, the CSTB is strengthening its commitment to anticipate new realities.

The Jules Verne wind tunnel is modernizing to better accommodate public and private stakeholders from France and abroad searching for the solutions of tomorrow in broad areas of application: from construction to new energies, intelligent transport, digital innovations for buildings and cities, greening of spaces, and safety and quality of environments exposed to climatic events.

The upgrading of the Jules Verne climatic wind tunnel will also bring new scientific resources to the CSTB for the prevention and management of major hazards, in the health sector, for comfort in living spaces and for overall building performance. It will also contribute to a strategic advance in the convergence of digital and experimental approaches, an essential tool today for obtaining detailed, instructive results.

The client experience will be enriched, thanks, for example, to real-time 3D visualization of aerodynamic phenomena, of measurements and of impacts. The program, known as JV 2.0, is specifically designed to develop the convergence of physical and digital approaches.

Get ready next fall to discover the transformations!
Contact : cape@cstb.fr