Our achievements
Browse some of our achievements below to better appreciate the quality of our sensors and the variety of their applications.
AIRBUS x Laboratoire LAPLACE (CNRS) :
Simulation des arcs électriques de court-circuit sur les réseaux aéronautiques
Custom-made IHF flow sensors
The new launch pad intended for the European Ariane 6 launcher, called ELA4 (Launch Package No. 4) is equipped with a system for channeling the combustion jets (hot gases coming from the side boosters and the Vulcain2 central cryogenic engine). This system is made up of a superstructure (jet guide, carnals), but also a deluge means, discharging no less than 800m3 of water at 9 bar, in order to guarantee the integrity of the launch pad during takeoff . In order to validate its nominal behavior and monitor its good health, NexTherm Sensing was entrusted by the CNES (French Space Agency) with the production of tailor-made flow meters (inertia, IHF range ). The sensors were positioned at various strategic points (launch table, booster pallet, deflector at the bottom of the jet guide, etc.) in order to provide a real map of the thermal flows seen during takeoffs. This illustrates the contribution that new instrumentation can make in understanding and monitoring critical physical phenomena.
Vacuum chamber for reproducing electrical network arcs (credit CNRS Laplace / T. André thesis (2017))
The new launch pad intended for the European Ariane 6 launcher, called ELA4 (Launch Package No. 4) is equipped with a system for channeling the combustion jets (hot gases coming from the side boosters and the Vulcain2 central cryogenic engine). This system is made up of a superstructure (jet guide, carnals), but also a deluge means, discharging no less than 800m3 of water at 9 bar, in order to guarantee the integrity of the launch pad during takeoff . In order to validate its nominal behavior and monitor its good health, NexTherm Sensing was entrusted by the CNES (French Space Agency) with the production of tailor-made flow meters (inertia, IHF range ). The sensors were positioned at various strategic points (launch table, booster pallet, deflector at the bottom of the jet guide, etc.) in order to provide a real map of the thermal flows seen during takeoffs. This illustrates the contribution that new instrumentation can make in understanding and monitoring critical physical phenomena.
Example of a flux density curve obtained with a DHF sensor. Note the high responsiveness of the sensor, capable of capturing the effect of the arc from the first millisecond.
CNES: Instrumentation of the Ariane 6 Launch Pad
An illustration of our expertise in custom design
Explanatory video of the Ariane 6 launch pad (Credit: CNES)
Custom-made IHF flow sensors
The new launch pad intended for the European Ariane 6 launcher, called ELA4 (Launch Package No. 4) is equipped with a system for channeling the combustion jets (hot gases coming from the side boosters and the Vulcain2 central cryogenic engine). This system is made up of a superstructure (jet guide, carnals), but also a deluge means, discharging no less than 800m3 of water at 9 bar, in order to guarantee the integrity of the launch pad during takeoff . In order to validate its nominal behavior and monitor its good health, NexTherm Sensing was entrusted by the CNES (French Space Agency) with the production of tailor-made flow meters (inertia, IHF range ). The sensors were positioned at various strategic points (launch table, booster pallet, deflector at the bottom of the jet guide, etc.) in order to provide a real map of the thermal flows seen during takeoffs. This illustrates the contribution that new instrumentation can make in understanding and monitoring critical physical phenomena.
INERIS: Experience linked to Hydrogen Risks
DHF dynamic sensors
Hydrogen is a fuel of choice in the context of the energy transition, particularly for transport. Its low density is, however, a disadvantage, which requires its storage in pressurized gaseous form, between 350 and 700 bar. For the most demanding applications (long distances), cryogenic storage at -250°C is required. This creates considerable technical problems regarding the dangerous phenomena that could arise during its implementation (leaks, explosive atmosphere, anoxia, etc.).
In this context, before any large-scale public deployment, it is essential to understand the effects of combustion, explosion or even flame propagation in hydrogen clouds, in order to propose suitable safety barriers. INERIS turned to NexTherm Sensing for the supply of temperature and rapid heat flow sensors ( DHF range ), capable of detecting the passage of the combustion source. The sensors in the DHF range have thus made it possible to enrich the metrology of fire safety tests.
Fire safety test on hydrogen torch. INERIS credit
Defense: Combustion Tests
CHF cooled sensors
Propulsion is at the heart of National Defense challenges. Whether it is artillery, tactical missiles or strategic force, continuous improvements in propulsion guarantee supremacy. The French industrial fabric in the field of Defense is one of the most active and innovative. It is therefore necessary to equip yourself with the best tools to maintain your lead. In this context, NexTherm Sensing provides major Defense contractors with unrivaled sensors, such as cooled flow meters ( CHF range ), which allow continuous monitoring of the thermal parameters of combustion test benches. The key is to characterize the performance and thermal resistance of advanced materials.
Nozzle test. Credit DGA Missile Tests
CNRS: Equipment for the THEMIS solar power plant at the PROMES Laboratory
Custom-designed IHF sensor
Themis is a 5000 kW tower solar power plant illuminated by 107 heliostats. It is owned by the Pyrénées-Orientales Departmental Council. Experiments for the European projects Next-CSP and POLYPHEM, led by the PROMES laboratory, are conducted at the Themis power plant.
Interior of the THEMIS tower configured for the NEXT-CSP project, aimed at producing solar electrical energy. Calorie transport is carried out between the concentrator and the generator by a fluidized bed (Credit CNRS PROMES)
The THEMIS tower and its heliostat field (Credit: CNRS PROMES)
PROMES is a CNRS Research Unit (UPR 8521) attached to the Institute of Engineering and Systems Sciences (INSIS). The laboratory is located on three sites: Odeillo-Font Romeu (CNRS 1MW solar furnace), Targasonne (Thémis, a 5MW solar tower, site of the Pyrénées-Orientales General Council), and Perpignan, Tecnosud.
One of PROMES's unique missions is to develop research using major French concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities, including the CNRS solar furnaces in Font Romeu and the Pyrénées-Orientales General Council solar tower in Targasonne. This research can be conducted up to the demonstrator stage.
NexTherm Sensing supplied an IHF Series heat flux sensor to calibrate the solar flux density at the concentrator. The fluxmeter is mounted on a moving bar that scans the concentrated beam transversely, with fluxes up to 600 kW/m².