Experimental facilities at HZDR
TOPFLOW
The multipurpose thermalhydraulic test facility TOPFLOW was designed to investigate steady-state and transient two-phase flows at praxis-relevant operational parameters by the Institute of Fluid Dynamics at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.
TOPFLOW pressure tank
TOPFLOW+
With the commissioning of the TOPFLOW+ test facility in 2014, seven variable test areas as well as a radiation-shielded X-ray laboratory are available for fluid dynamic experiments and measurement campaigns on a total area of 750 m². While in the TOPFLOW test facility, mainly experiments are carried out at high pressure and temperatures, TOPFLOW+ is primarily intended for smaller experiments under athmospheric conditions, with the advantage of a fully parallel operation.
ROFEX
The ultrafast X-ray tomograph “ROFEX” (Rossendorf Fast Electron beam X-ray tomograph), which has been developed at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, is a powerful, non-invasive imaging tool for this purpose. The device has been especially designed for measurements at the vertical test section DN50 of the experimental facility TOPFLOW. Due to its versatility, the system is further applicable to a variety of other objects from fluid dynamics and chemical engineering up to a diameter of 120 mm. So far, frame rates of up to 7,000 cross-sectional images per second at a spatial resolution of about 1 mm have been reached.
ROFEX
Gamma-ray computed tomography
In recent years a transportable and spatial high-resolution gamma-ray computed tomography measurement system was developed and established to determine phase fraction and/or phase interfaces (gas, fluid, solid) in industrial flow apparatus, i.e. axial compressors, pumps, hydrodynamic fluid couplings or thermo hydraulic test facilities. The use of 137Cs (662 keV photons energy) offers the opportunity to penetrate radiological dense material, i.e. aluminum or steel, whereas minor density differences inside the object of investigation can be visualized.
Gamma-ray tomography