Pressure-tank technology for steam-water two-phase flow experiments at elevated pressure and temperature

In this contribution we describe the TOPFLOW pressure tank as an experimental facility for thermal hydraulics experiments in pressure equilibrium. The facility has been designed for studying steam-water two-phase flows at pressures of up to 50 bar. It enables to run experiments in flow domains of complex shape without paying attention to high difference pressures across the wall. The concept therefore allows us to use thin metal walls or even glass windows to observe flows in complex geometry domains with the help of IR or video camera and to considerably reduce cost and complexity of experimental settings. Several experimental studies have been performed with this technology so far. This includes counter-current flow in a reactor hot-leg mock-up, an experimental study on the thermal hydraulics of emergency core-cooling injection as well as investigations of direct contact condensation phenomena. In the following we give an introduction to the technology, details of design and operation and demonstrate its applicability to fundamental experimental studies on the direct steam condensation at jets and free surfaces.