Experimental investigation of functional performance of a vacuum vessel pressure suppression system of ITER

Important challenges for fusion technology deal with the design of safety systems aimed to protect the Vacuum Vessel (VV) from pressurizing accidents like the Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA). To prevent or mitigate structural damages, the solution proposed is a safety system able to quickly condense released steam in cold water at sub-atmospheric conditions. This water suppression tank (VVPSS) is so aiming at limiting the maximum pressure in the VV to 0.2. MPa during in-vessel coolant leak events and at maintaining the VV long-term pressure below atmospheric pressure during air or incondensable gases ingress, through the Direct Contact Condensation (DCC).The novelty of this study resides especially in the working condition of VVPSS, which operates precisely to sub-atmospheric pressure: up to date no explicit experimental data or investigation of DCC are in fact available in literature. To overcome this lack an extensive experimental work has been done at DICI - University of Pisa, where numerous condensation tests (more than 300) were performed. The operation condition investigated took into account downstream pressure between 30 and 117. kPa and water pool temperature from 30 up to 85. °C.The experimental measurements allow to study the influence of steam mass flux, water temperature and pool pressure on the steam condensation phenomenon (and in turn, based on the stable condensation regime, correctly analyze the design parameter of VVPSS). The results obtained are presented and discussed. Innovative condensation regime maps are in addition provided.