TOPFLOW Pressure Chamber – versatile techniques to simplify design and instrumentation of thermal fluid dynamic experiments at high pressure

The present paper describes the design and function of the TOPFLOW Pressure Chamber of the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. The facility opened new opportunities for experiments at pressures of up to 50 bar. The actual test equipment can be constructed as a not pressure carrying installation. The TOPFLOW steam generator, located in an adjacent hall, was used to supply steam at saturation conditions. In the paper, three experimental programs that were carried out in the pressure chamber are introduced briefly, mainly with the purpose to highlight the advantages of the pressure chamber technique.