A discrete model for compressible flows in heterogeneous media

This work deals with the building of a discrete model able to describe and to predict the evolution of complex gas flows in heterogeneous media. In many physical applications, large scales numerical simulation is no longer possible because of a lack of computing resources. Indeed the medium topology may be complex due to the presence of many obstacles (walls, pipes, equipments, geometric singularities etc.). Aircraft powerplant compartments are examples where topology is complex due to the presence of pipes, ducts, coolers and other equipment. Other important examples are gas explosions and large scale dispersion of hazardous materials in urban places, cities or underground involving obstacles such as buildings and various infrastructures. In all cases efficient safety responses are required. Then a new discrete model is built and solved in reasonable execution times for large cells volumes including such obstacles. Quantitative comparisons between experimental and numerical results are shown for different significant test cases, showing excellent agreement.