By Lynda Myer
CODEL were the first company in the industry to sell dedicated tunnel analyzers in the market, releasing the TunnelMaster in 1999. Prior to this, adapted stack emissions analyzers for CO and Visibility/Smoke were used to ensure the safety of travelers through tunnels.
These rudimentary devices served a purpose, however, they required further development before the TunnelMaster was released. Milled from single pieces of aluminum and designed around the harsh conditions experienced on the side of emission stacks, there are many of these units still in use today.
Utilizing the infra-red measuring technique, these analyzers were adopted globally and quickly led to CODEL becoming the number one name in tunnel atmosphere monitoring.
As with any application that requires monitoring there will always be technological advancements, changing legislation, and market leaders that influence the methodology used.
Tunnels are no different
Since CODEL’s first IR monitor was released there have been a raft of different technologies introduced to monitor tunnel environments including blue, green and red LEDs, UV DOAS, electrochemical cells and forward scatter laser technology, however, over the span of 20 years CODEL remained grounded in its IR roots.
In the last five years CODEL has substantially increased its R&D resource for tunnel products releasing multiple electrochemical cell lines with market leading accuracies. By combining one of these lines with our tried and tested visibility technology we offer customers a full range of options to fulfil their CAPEX or OPEX needs.
Due to market demand all this has culminated with the release of our first backscatter and electrochemical cell analyzer offering the convenience of simple installation with the high accuracy of our EC cell products to compete in territories that have changed their approach to monitoring.
We have not stopped there, CODEL has maintained its place as the complete solution provider for tunnel environmental monitoring. We are working on our next endeavor to ensure that when legislation changes in the future, or we drive it, CODEL will continue to pioneer the technology for monitoring tunnels worldwide.
TunnelTech 900 Series
The latest in innovative, air quality monitoring technology from CODEL.
In June 2022, CODEL International Ltd will be releasing the latest in its TunnelTech Series, the TunnelTech 900 to the world.
An essential part of any road or rail tunnel safety system. Firstly, it monitors the atmosphere within the tunnel and ensures that the tunnel ventilation system provides sufficient clean air to protect tunnel users’ health and for drivers to clearly see the road ahead.
The TunnelTech 900 analyzer electrochemical cell technology determines CO, NO, NO2, and SO2 concentrations, utilizing backscatter technology for visibility measurements. Reliability levels are extremely high and maintenance requirements are very low.
Changing preferences in tunnel atmosphere monitoring often drives development towards new and innovative technologies. The requirement for instruments that are capable of visibility measurements unaffected by fog, led to the use of laser backscatter in the tunnel environment. Although fog hampers the visibility of drivers, it cannot be removed using the ventilation system within the tunnel. Conventional technologies such as LED`s can be used in these circumstances but the requirement of additional units to qualify if it is fog or emissions can drive up the cost of equipment.
Without the additional LED units at the portal of the tunnel, the system will state correctly that visibility is reduced to a level that could hamper driver performance and safety thereby automatically turning on the ventilation system within the tunnel.
The ventilation system is an extremely expensive function within the tunnel and its use is reduced to the minimum requirement to ensure the most economical cost to the operator. For this reason, a technology that removes fog from its measurement will become preferable in certain tunnels that suffer from incursions of fog.
“Over my 20 years of working with tunnels I have seen a dramatic change in how they are monitored, it used to be easy, everyone used IR, and everyone monitored CO & visibility. Over recent years we have seen such a dramatic shift, it is now so fragmented with not only different legislation driving what is measured but also the type of measurement used. This presents many challenges for manufacturers, especially those with only positive experiences when using a specific technology. Once this challenge was met, it opened an exciting new chapter for CODEL, the future of tunnel atmosphere monitoring and the safety of road tunnel users.”
James Gilbert, Sales Manager, CODEL International Ltd.
If you would like more information, please email sales@codel.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1629 814351, alternatively visit here.
