Abstract
Together with the measurement of temperature, the measurement of pressure or pressure drop is one of the first and most used measurements in science and plays a central role in the detection and recording of flow processes in thermal-hydraulic systems. In nuclear engineering this not only applies to detection and recording of the processes in the nuclear power plants (NPP) themselves but also to the test facilities used for analysis and interpretation of important thermal-hydraulic processes.While pressure drop measurements – belonging to the so called ‘conventional instrumentation’ – have been primarily used for single phase flow situations, the benefit of its use and application in two-phase flow conditions can also be clearly demonstrated. A comprehensive review of two-phase instrumentation methods, including pressure drop, has been provided by Hewitt in the seventies and eighties of the last century (Hewitt, 1978, 1982). Even though the development of new ‘advanced instrumentation’ has made enormous progress in recent years, pressure drop measurements will remain very important in the future.Pressure drop measurements cover a real broad spectrum of application, so that not all aspects can be addressed in this paper. Under consideration of the information provided in the book ‘Thermal Hydraulics in Water-Cooled Nuclear Reactors’ (Umminger and D’Auria, 2017), this paper will focus on pressure drop measurements in integral test facilities for PWR with some hints to applications in NPPs. Status and use will be discussed on the basis of some typical examples. Important issues, further needs and perspectives in measuring of pressure drops will also be outlined.
Published Version
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