Wave and tide simulator
In 1997, Cedre acquired an experimental tool designed to simulate shoreline environments in microcosms. This tool is used to assess the behaviour of petroleum products or chemicals within a range of environments subject to tidal and wave movements.
Characteristics
The wave and tide simulator is installed in Cedre's experimentation
hall. Twelve 20 l aquariums are set up on an agitation
table which generates an identical, regular wave in each
aquarium. The wave strength can be regulated in order
to simulate the hydrodynamics of a sheltered to moderately
agitated environment. The stainless steel aquariums have
glass fronts to allow observation during experiments.
Each aquarium is linked by a tube to another “reservoir”
aquarium placed on lift table used to recreate tidal movements
by gravity. The movements of the lift table are generated
by a programmer which sets the duration of each cycle
according to the experiment in hand.
Usage
The simulator was initially designed to conduct experiments
on the biodegradation of crude oil within lightly agitated
sandy sediments. Since 2000, in the wake of the Erika
and the Prestige spills, several series of experiments
on the persistence of heavy fuel oils polluting various
substrates (wood, marble, limestone, granite, concrete…)
have been conducted. Furthermore, tests on the absorption
capacity of feathers have also been carried out using
this equipment.
Wave and tide simulator