The SPHINX: hydraulic fire valve
The SPHINX: protecting the environment in the event of hazardous material fire

The SPHINX is a hydraulic valve designed by CEA (cf. ) to operate in a fire situation (figure ). It can be used to limit the overpressure generated by a fire by evacuating hot gases, after treatment, to a room where ventilation is maintained for the duration of the fire. This gas transfer can be achieved at high flow rates (over 10,000 m³/h) and low pressures (of the order of 2,000 Pa), while at the same time providing the following functions:

• Flame-retardant: SPHINX guarantees the transfer of hot gases without the passage of flame;

• cooling: SPHINX reduces the temperature of the transferred gases to below the unburnt gas reignition threshold (approx. 300°C), thus ensuring that there...