INL/EXT-22-68181

Advanced Measurement and

Visualization Techniques for
High-Temperature Heat Pipe
Experiments
July 2022

Sunming Qin, Luis Nunez III, Zachary Sellers, Jeremy Hartvigsen,

Piyush Sabharwall, Scott Thompson
Idaho National Laboratory

Robert Reid
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Victor Petrov
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

Joseph Seo, Yassin Hassan

Texas A&M University

Philippe Bardet
The George Washington University
 DISCLAIMER
This information was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an
agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor any
agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed
or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy,
completeness, or usefulness, of any information, apparatus, product, or
process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately
owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial product,
process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise,
does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation,
or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and
opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect
those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
 INL/EXT-22-68181

Advanced Measurement and Visualization Techniques

for High-Temperature Heat Pipe Experiments

Sunming Qin, Luis Nunez III, Zackary Sellers, Jeremy Hartvigsen,

Piyush Sabharwall, Scott Thompson
Idaho National Laboratory

Robert Reid
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Victor Petrov
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

Joseph Seo, Yassin Hassan

Texas A&M University

Philippe Bardet
The George Washington University

July 2022

Idaho National Laboratory

Nuclear Science & Technology
Idaho Falls, ID, USA 83415

http://www.inl.gov

Prepared for the

U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Nuclear Energy
Under DOE Idaho Operations Office
Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517
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 SUMMARY
This report conducts a preliminary investigation of the available literature
and summarizes some potential advanced measurement and visualization
techniques for operating high-temperature heat pipe (HP) that can be
implemented to support the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE)
Microreactor Program (MRP). The primary objective for the extensive literature
research is to investigate the possibilities and feasibility for the design and
construction of an advanced experimental test facility with the aim of producing
high-fidelity high-resolution heat pipe data during its operation.
Based on the existing HP test facilities at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—
including the Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE)
and the Microreactor Agile Non-Nuclear Experimental Test Bed (MAGNET)—
further efforts will be made to examine the technical feasibility to HP
measurements and support the research, development, and demonstration
(RD&D) process for an HP-cooled microreactor. Continuing collaborations with
the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program,
other research institutes and universities are considered to be extremely important
so that the experimental facility and resultant database can satisfy the validation
needs of advanced heat pipe modeling codes being developed under DOE
NEAMS program.

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iv
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy–Office of
Nuclear Energy (DOE–NE) MRP under DOE Contract No. DE-AC07-
05ID14517. The authors also recognize and appreciate the feedback and support
given by Dr. Victor Petrov’s research group from the University of Michigan,
Prof. Hassan’s group from Texas A&M University and Prof. Philippe Bardet
from the George Washington University.

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vi
 CONTENTS
SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................ v
ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................................... xi
1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ........................................................................................ 1
2. HEAT PIPE: PHYSICS AND MEASUREMENT ............................................................................. 2
2.1 Heat Pipe Operating Limits ...................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Measurement Variables of Interest .......................................................................................... 4
3. EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES AND CAPABILITITES ................................................................ 5
3.1 SPHERE Facility...................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 MAGNET Facility ................................................................................................................... 8
3.3 Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities ................................................................................... 11
4. INVESTIGATION OF ADVANCED MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES ..................................... 11
4.1 Temperature Measurement..................................................................................................... 12
4.1.1 Thermal Imaging Camera ......................................................................................... 12
4.1.2 Distributed Temperature Sensor using Fiber-Optic .................................................. 13
4.2 Stress/Strain Measurement ..................................................................................................... 14
4.2.1 Embedded Fiber-Optics ............................................................................................ 14
4.2.2 Digital Image Correlation ......................................................................................... 16
4.3 Void Fraction and Film Thickness Measurement .................................................................. 16
4.3.1 Optical Measurement with High-Speed Camera....................................................... 17
4.3.2 Heat Pipe Visualization ............................................................................................. 18
4.3.3 Radiation-based Tomography ................................................................................... 20
4.3.4 Radiation Diagnostics with Sodium Isotope (Na-22) ............................................... 22
4.4 Advanced Laser Spectroscopy for Velocimetry, Pressure, and Temperature
Measurement inside an HP .................................................................................................... 22
5. SUMMARY AND FUTURE PLAN................................................................................................. 26
6. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 27

FIGURES
Figure 1. Heat-pipe-cooled microreactor design concept. Adapted from [2]. .............................................. 1
Figure 2. The HP working cycle. Adapted from [14]. .................................................................................. 2
Figure 3. Analytical HP operation limits calculated by Sockeye. The two bounding limits that do not
result in catastrophic failure of the HP are the sonic and viscous limits, that are represented

vii
 with dashed lines which effectively limit the amount of heat flux that can be transferred by
the HP. Adapted from [16]. .......................................................................................................... 3
Figure 4. Piping and instrumentation diagram for the SPHERE facility. ..................................................... 5
Figure 5. (a) Cross-section geometry of the core block for single HP experiments. (b) A photograph
of a 7-hole hex block end face in fabrication................................................................................ 6
Figure 6. Single HP experiment testbed fixture. ........................................................................................... 7
Figure 7. Single HP experiment quartz tube with core block, end flange, and Macor ceramic supports. .... 7
Figure 8. (a) MAGNET process flow diagram. (b) MAGNET environmental enclosure. ........................... 9
Figure 9. Layout of PCU loop connected to the MAGNET loop by the heat-source HX. ......................... 10
Figure 10. Video snapshot with a thermal imaging camera filming the HP in use. Adapted from [29]. .... 12
Figure 11. Optical image from the digital camera of the SPHERE shakedown test during the heating
process. The HP was located in the center of the hexblock, surrounded by six cartridge
heaters. ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Figure 12. The principle of distributed temperature sensing using fiber-optics. Adapted from [34]. ........ 13
Figure 13. Schematic representations of the (a) UAM process and (b) fiber embedding steps (section
view), which include building a few layers of material on the baseplate, machining a
channel, laying the fiber-optic in the channel, and layering foils on top to embed the fiber.
Adapted from [37]. ..................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 14. CAD models (a, b) and pictures (c, d) of the pipe (a, c) and hexagonal block (b, d) test
articles with embedded thermocouples and fiber-optic sensors. The thick red lines
correspond to the location of the thermocouples, the thin green lines designate the
placements of the fiber-optics, and the thin blue lines indicate open cavities for insertion of
a floating fiber. Adapted from [36]............................................................................................. 15
Figure 15. Simulation of 37-hole core block with speckle pattern for the MAGNET facility. .................. 16
Figure 16. The LTHPF at the Thermal-Hydraulic Laboratory led by Prof. Shanbin Shi from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Adapted from [44]. ...................................................... 17
Figure 17. Temperature measurement of IR camera for heat propagation (left) and operating
limitation of heat pipes. .............................................................................................................. 18
Figure 18. TAMU Experimental setup of the heat pipe visualization experiment (left), and an example
of fluid flow inside of the heat pipe captured by high speed camera with 100W input power,
0 degree inclination, 2000 fps of camera frame rate (right). ...................................................... 19
Figure 19. Schematic diagram of a separate-effect test facility for a single sodium HP. Adapted from
[45]. ............................................................................................................................................ 20
Figure 20. The schematic diagram of the X-ray radiography system. Adapted from [45]. ........................ 21
Figure 21. X-ray images of two-phase flow in the evaporator section of the HP. Adapted from [45]. ...... 21
Figure 22. The energy spectrum of gamma rays from an Na source. Adapted from [47]. ......................... 22
Figure 23. Sodium energy levels: the transitions 3P1/2-3S1/2 & 3P3/2-3S1/2 corresponds to the
sodium D-lines at λ=589.6 & 589.0 nm, respectively. ............................................................... 23
Figure 24. Tunable laser being absorbed in resonance with sodium in a gas cell. The orange line
marks the laser path. (Courtesy Dr. Michael Button, who developed TDLAS during his
PhD with Dr. Bardet.) ................................................................................................................. 23

viii
Figure 25. With the angled laser orientation setup, the laser spectrum can be used for post-processing
to measure the velocity, pressure, and temperature in the vapor core region. ............................ 24
Figure 26. Two different ways to employ the advanced laser diagnostics that can be applied to an
operating HP: (a) the straight-on approach with the laser perpendicular to the HP wall; (b)
the angled laser orientation with a certain angle to the HP wall. ................................................ 25

TABLE
Table 1. MAGNET facility design specifications. ...................................................................................... 10

ix
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x
 ACRONYMS
Al Aluminum
AM Advanced Manufacturing
Ar Argon
atm Atmosphere
Cu Copper
DC Direct Current
DIC Digital Image Correlation
DLP Digital Light Photoluminescence
DOE U.S. Department of Energy
DOE–NE U.S. Department of Energy–Office of Nuclear Energy
DTS Distributed Temperature Sensor
g Gram
GWU George Washington University
He Helium
HP Heat Pipe
HTGR High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor
HX Heat Exchanger
INL Idaho National Laboratory
IR Infrared
kW Kilowatt
LMHP Liquid Metal Heat Pipe
LTHPF Low-Temperature Heat Pipe Test Facility
m Meter
MAGNET Microreactor Agile Non-Nuclear Experimental Test Bed
MOOSE Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment
MRP Microreactor Program
MWe Megawatt Electrical
MWth Megawatt Thermal
NEAMS Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation
Na Sodium
Ni Nickel
NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

xi
ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory
PCU Power Conversion Unit
RD&D Research, Development, and Demonstration
SCR Silicon-Control-Rectifier
SPHERE Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator
TAMU Texas A&M University
TDLAS Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy
UAM Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing
UM University of Michigan
U.S. United States
V&V Verification and Validation
W Watt

xii
 Advanced Measurement and Visualization Techniques
for High-Temperature Heat Pipe Experiments
1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Microreactor systems produce a stable, continuous supply of abundant energy in a relatively small
footprint. For microreactors, specific deployment opportunities may include the provision of heat and
electrical power to remote commercial and industrial applications, remote civilian municipalities, or
remote or isolated military installations. Typical power needs in these types of facilities range from 1 to
10 megawatts electrical (MWe) power. In many current applications, power generation at this scale is
achieved through the use of diesel generators. However, increasing costs, clean-energy goals, and supply-
chain constraints have prompted a desire to examine other options to ensure energy availability and
reliability. Microreactors generally produce about 0.1 to 50MWea. They are factory manufacturable,
easily transportable, and, due to neutronic simplicity, allow for semi- or fully autonomous operation. To
ensure accelerated deployment the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Microreactor
Program (MRP) [1] is working closely with vendors, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
and other DOE programs to develop capabilities to enable successful demonstration. Various types of
microreactor designs are under consideration; among those, the heat pipe (HP)-cooled reactor designs, as
illustrated in Figure 1, are currently being actively investigated at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). To
support non-nuclear testing and demonstration of technology under the MRP, the Single Primary Heat
Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE) and Microreactor Agile Non-Nuclear Experimental Test
Bed (MAGNET) were designed and constructed to perform high-temperature HP experiments at INL.
The novel and unique experimental database will be of great value and importance to support the
computational code development and guide the advanced microreactor system design.

Figure 1. Heat-pipe-cooled microreactor design concept. Adapted from [2].

Some information, such as the permanent mechanical deformations caused by plastic strain or thermal
creep, can be gleaned from post-test examination of microreactor components subjected to electrical
heating and temperature gradients that are representative of expected conditions during nuclear operation.
However, the major benefits to performing electrically heated experiments—besides not having to work
with nuclear fuel, reactor constraints, and activated materials—are the ability to incorporate more detailed
instrumentation during the tests and better control of the environmental conditions. Non-nuclear
experiments, which will be performed with SPHERE and MAGNET, will provide detailed distributions
of the thermomechanical parameters (i.e., temperature and strain) and quantify the fundamental

a Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021

1
limitations of microreactor components and systems, including heat-rejection capabilities of HPs and
advanced HXs.
Meanwhile, software verification and validation (V&V) hold an important role in the safety analysis
for nuclear facilities, as the codes and models utilized in calculations demonstrating the safety basis as
part of DOE authorization must demonstrate an acceptable pedigree. The DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced
Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program is developing tools for HP applications, currently under
development, is called Sockeye [3], and is based on the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation
Environment (MOOSE) [4] finite element framework. Recently, the MRP technical report [5] pointed out
the need to address V&V gap that exists for Sockeye development, and need for more comprehensive
experimental data—preferably the internal measurements during HP operation which is crucial for
accurate modeling. Therefore, to construct high-quality high-fidelity database, advanced measurement
techniques are being considered to better understand HP internal physics.

2. HEAT PIPE: PHYSICS AND MEASUREMENT

In the past several decades, HPs are becoming increasingly popular, and are being recognized as one
of the most efficient passive heat transfer technologies that is available. Therefore, HPs have been
employed in a wide variety of thermal applications—including micro-electronics cooling, vehicle thermal
management, and energy storage/recovery systems [6-8]. Of the various types of available HPs, our
particular interest lies in the liquid metal heat pipes (LMHPs), which use alkali metals as a working fluid.
Given that LMHPs can offer a reliable and effective way of thermal management for high-temperature
thermal systems, great attention has been paid from various industries to build solar collectors [8],
advanced nuclear reactors [9, 10], space power systems [11-13], etc.

Figure 2. The HP working cycle. Adapted from [14].

In general, HPs are passive thermal transfer devices with the ability to transport large amounts of heat
over relatively long distances, with no moving parts, but instead using phase change processes and vapor
diffusion. The main structure of a HP consists of an evacuated tube partially filled with a working fluid
that exists in both liquid and vapor phases. Figure 2 represents the basic steps of HP operation, which is a
continuous cycle. When the HP is heating up, the working fluid is allowed to evaporate. The difference in
densities between the vapor and the fluid, as well as the resultant pressure gradient between the
evaporator and condenser parts, allows the vapor to reach the cool condenser section. The difference in
wall temperature causes the vapor to condensate and release the latent heat, thereby allowing the fluid to

2
return to the liquid pool located in the evaporator by capillary forces in the wicking structures [15]. To
better understand the physics and measurement challenges of the LMHPs, this section provides a brief
overview of the HP operating limits and proposes some parameters of interest for high-temperature
LMHP experiments.

2.1 Heat Pipe Operating Limits

As mentioned for the HP-cooled microreactor designs investigated by the MRP, the HP design
consists of stainless-steel encasements filled with a liquid metal working fluid—typically either
potassium or sodium. While HPs are straightforward and reliable devices, they are subject to several heat
transport limitations that must be considered for safe operation. These limits are plotted in Figure 3, and
can be described as follows [16]:
1. Capillary Limit: This limit is encountered when the liquid in the evaporator is evaporated at a greater
rate than it can be returned to the evaporator due to insufficient capillary-driving pressure as
compared to the pressure losses around the circuit.
2. Entrainment Limit: This limit occurs when the vapor phase is able to shear off liquid from the wick
surface into the central channel, thus limiting the flow of liquid to the evaporator.
3. Boiling Limit: This limit occurs when nucleate boiling occurs in the evaporator at such a rate that
bubble formation and departure inhibit the return of liquid to the evaporator.
4. Viscous Limit: This limit occurs when the vapor pressure is insufficient to overcome the pressure
drop along the pipe, thus shortening its distance into the condenser region.
5. Sonic Limit: This limit occurs when the vapor flow is choked at the evaporator exit.

Figure 3. Analytical HP operation limits calculated by Sockeye. The two bounding limits that do not
result in catastrophic failure of the HP are the sonic and viscous limits, that are represented with dashed
lines which effectively limit the amount of heat flux that can be transferred by the HP. Adapted from [16].

Matthews et al. [16] pointed out that of these five limits, the capillary, boiling, and entrainment limits
are considered ‘catastrophic’ HP failures from which normal operation is not recoverable without a

3
reactor shutdown. The remaining two limits are considered ‘bounding’ limits, resulting in decreased heat
fluxes at the evaporator and condenser side of the HP. If the temperature were to change to more
favorable conditions away from the bounding limits, the heat flux would then return to normal operation,
as designated by the shaded region in Figure 3. Although HPs retain a limited ability to transfer heat to
the secondary side via conduction through the HP casing, the rate of heat transfer through the steel HP
casing is significantly smaller than the heat flux realized by operating HPs, so this heat transfer
mechanism is typically ignored. In addition to the five operational limits described previously, the
extremely low temperatures of HPs are limited by the freezing point of the working fluid, which becomes
essential during cold startup or shutdown. Lastly, failures due to casing breaches, which result in the loss
of the working fluid, can also result in ‘catastrophic’ failure of the HP.
In general, HPs provide a high-level of confidence in robustness and reliability due to the lack of
moving parts and sealed design. Although the primary risk to a microreactor is the loss of heat removal,
most modern core design will likely be able to handle failure of one or two HPs. Consequently, cascade
failure is often considered a primary failure mode that needs to be avoided and will be investigated and
analyzed in near future in MAGNET testbed to support the MRP.

2.2 Measurement Variables of Interest

As recognized and acknowledged by the code development community, the V&V process of any
numerical methods and physical models in advanced modeling and simulation are part of best practices.
These steps are necessary so that vendors employing the software for design and safety applications have
confidence in the validity of computational results. The key to developing a useful advanced modeling
and simulation capability for a given physical system is a rigorous validation paradigm primarily founded
in integrating advanced modeling and simulation development with a stringent multiscale, multiphysics
experimental program that is repeatable and delivers data with quantifiable uncertainties [16].
According to the Sockeye development manual [17], as well as the computational modeling needs to
support the microreactor development and demonstration program [18, 19], advanced measurement
techniques are needed to obtain the following properties with high accuracy and repeatability:
• Temperature on internal and external side of the HP during the full operation cycle
• Stress and displacement measurement for the containment holding the HP
• Internal measurement of void fraction and film thickness for operating HPs
• Vapor velocity in the HP core during operation
• Sodium vapor pressure inside the HPs at different operating stages.
These quantities are extremely arduous to measure due to the high operating temperature of LMHPs.
In addition, the stainless-steel sheath of the HP makes it impossible to visualize the internal part with
traditional optic measurement techniques. Based on these measurement needs—as well as the
challenges—an extensive literature review will be presented with the available and possible advanced
manufacturing capabilities in section 3.3, and advanced measurement techniques in section 3.3,
respectively.

4
 3. EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES AND CAPABILITITES
The primary experimental hardware capabilities currently under development are focused on
non-nuclear thermal and integrated systems testing and the development of test articles to perform
experiments—specifically, this includes SPHERE and MAGNET. The capabilities described in this
section will generate data that will further support other DOE programs and industrial needs. These data
will be made available to researchers and developers for a range of testing purposes to support model
development and V&V efforts.

3.1 SPHERE Facility

The SPHERE facility is equipped with a test chamber that allows for either vacuum (10-4 torr) or inert
gas operation. The SPHERE facility process flow diagram is shown in Figure 4. Cooling water is
recirculated using a 2.5 kilowatt (kW) circulating chiller unit. The water flow loop includes a precision
turbine flow meter and a delta-T meter that will allow for accurate determination of the heat removal rate
from the HP to the cooling water. Prior to testing, the quartz tube is evacuated using a vacuum pump and
then backfilled with inert gas consisting either of helium (He) or argon (Ar). This process is repeated
several times by successive dilution at the beginning of each test to ensure that all the air has been
removed. An oxygen sensor provides a second validation of total removal of air from the system.
Measurement of HP axial temperature profiles during startup, steady-state, and transient operations
involve using thermal imaging and surface-temperature measurement, performing calorimetric
measurements with a water-cooled gas-gap calorimeter, determining HP operational limits, and testing
under both vacuum and inert gas conditions [20]. The objectives of the single HP testing include:
1. Documentation of HP thermal performance under a wide range of heating values and operating
temperatures
2. Observation of HP startup and transient operation
3. Development of effective thermal-coupling methods between the outer surface of the HP and the core
block and between the cartridge heaters and the core block.

Figure 4. Piping and instrumentation diagram for the SPHERE facility.

5
 Thermal performance of the operating HPs will be determined by measurement of HP heat removal
capacity as a function of operating temperature. The heat removal rate is equal to the total heater power
input, measured by power meters, minus any heat losses as determined by a combination of direct
measurement by calorimetry measurements and an analysis of temperature gradients through the block
and along the HP. The body of these HPs is stainless-steel. The working fluid is sodium, and the wick
structure is specific to the supplier. The total quantity of sodium in each HP is small, roughly
60–80 grams (g). After charging, the HPs are welded shut. From the standpoint of our operations, the HPs
are fully closed, fully sealed test articles. The design basis surface heat flux value for the cartridge heaters
is 3.8 W/cm2, based on expected microreactor core power densities. For the 6 in. block, this power density
yields 317 watt (W) per heater and a total power of 1891 W. For the 1/2-meter (m) block with the same
power densities, each heater would operate at 1 kW, for a total power of 6 kW. For the 1-m block, each
heater would operate at 2 kW, for a total power of 12 kW. During testing in SPHERE, the heat fluxes that
can be applied will be limited by the heat transfer rating of the HPs. This limitation will result in the use
of significantly lower heat fluxes than the full prototypical core design values, especially for the longer
core blocks. Heater operating temperatures will be limited to 750°C. Note that the vapor pressure of
sodium is still well below 1 atmosphere (atm) at this temperature. Therefore, over-pressurization failure
of the HP is not a concern.
The single HP experiments will be performed using a 7-hole hexagonal core block with the cross-
sectional geometry shown in Figure 5(a). The core block material is stainless-steel 316L. Three different
core block lengths have been fabricated: 0.152-m, 0.5-m, and 1-m. A photograph of one of the hex blocks
is presented in Figure 5(b). The outer ring of six holes in the core block will be fitted with cartridge
heaters designed to mimic heating from microreactor fuel rods and the center hole will be occupied by the
HP. The gaps between the HP, heaters, and hex block are filled with boron nitride paste to ensure a
perfect thermal contact during the experiments.

(a) (b)
Figure 5. (a) Cross-section geometry of the core block for single HP experiments. (b) A photograph of a
7-hole hex block end face in fabrication.

Single HP testing is performed in an inert gas environment consisting of either He or an He-Ar

mixture. HP assembly is housed in a cylindrical inert gas environment formed by a quartz tube with
flanges on either end that include fittings for inlet and outlet gas flows as well as feedthroughs for
instrumentation and power. The quartz tube allows for visual observation of heat pipe operation and
quantitative thermal imaging. It also provides containment in the unlikely event of a leak of sodium from
the HP. As shown in Figure 7, the test chamber is an 8-ft. long, 6-in. diameter quartz tube with flanges for

6
gas flow connections, instrumentation feedthrough ports, and several internal Macor supports. The Macor
ceramic supports are designed to hold the hexagonal core block and the HP centered in the quartz tube.
Macor was selected based on its low thermal conductivity and high allowable operating temperature, plus
the fact that it is machinable.

Figure 6. Single HP experiment testbed fixture.

Figure 7. Single HP experiment quartz tube with core block, end flange, and Macor ceramic supports.

The HP is heated with cartridge heaters, which have a maximum heat flux value of 3.8 W/cm2. This
value was selected to mimic the expected microreactor core power densities. Each heater is also
interfaced to a LabVIEW virtual instrument. The power supplied to each heater is continuously monitored
using precision power meters designed for measurements of silicon-controlled-rectifier (SCR) loads. This
is done utilizing Watlow Din-A-Mites SCR-based power controllers.
The initial test article was equipped with a thermowell that allowed for a type-K multipoint
thermocouple with ten points to be used to get internal temperature measurements along the axis of the
HP. External thermocouples, also type-K, were spot-welded to the outside of the HP, as well as on the
outside of the hex block, using stainless-steel straps to get a better temperature distribution of both the HP
and the hex block. For future experimental tests, strain gauges will be installed to get an accurate
measurement of stress on both the HP and hex block. All the instruments will be interfaced to a
LabVIEW virtual instrument processor for data acquisition and instrument control.

7
 3.2 MAGNET Facility
To support the development of microreactor technology, INL has established a 250-kW electrically
heated microreactor test bed to enable experimental evaluation of a variety of microreactor concepts.
MAGNET was constructed at INL to assist in the development, demonstration, and validation of
microreactor components and systems. The purpose of this test bed is to support technology maturation
that will reduce uncertainty and risk relative to the operation and deployment of this unique class of
systems. However, the testbed will be constructed to accommodate other designs in addition to HP-cooled
reactors. MAGNET was constructed at INL with the following objectives and technical goals:
• Provide displacement and temperature data that could be used to verify potential design performance
and to validate accompanying analytical models.
• Show structural integrity of core structures (e.g., thermal stress, strain, aging/fatigue, creep,
deformation).
• Evaluate the interface between the HPs and HX for both geometric compatibility, HP functionality,
and heat transfer capabilities.
• Develop potential high-performance, integral HXs based on advanced-manufacturing techniques,
incorporating high-efficiency heat transfer from the HPs or gas working fluid to the power conversion
unit (PCU).
• Test the interface between the HX and integrated systems for power generation or process-heat
applications.
• Test microreactor components, such as gas circulators, control drums, or heat sinks.
• Demonstrate the applicability of advanced fabrication techniques, such as additive manufacturing or
diffusion bonding, to nuclear reactor applications.
• Identify and develop advanced sensors and power conversion equipment, including instrumentation
for autonomous operation.
• Test waste heat recovery systems designed to increase system efficiency and improve economics.
• Study cyclic loading and simulated reactivity feedback.
• Enhance readiness of the public stakeholders—particularly DOE laboratories and the NRC—to
design, operate, and test new types of high-temperature reactor components.
• Capture data relevant to the development of autonomous microreactor structural integrity monitoring
systems, such as digital image correlation (DIC). Use the data to develop and verify models and
systems for system-integrity monitoring.
A process flow diagram of MAGNET and a graphic of the MAGNET environmental chamber are
shown in Figure 8. The design specifications for MAGNET are shown in Table 1.

8
 (a)

(b)
Figure 8. (a) MAGNET process flow diagram. (b) MAGNET environmental enclosure.

9
Table 1. MAGNET facility design specifications.
Parameter Specifications and Values
Chamber Size 5 ft × 5 ft × 10 ft
Heat Removal Liquid-cooled chamber walls, gas flow
Coolants Air, inert gas (He or N2)
Gas Flowrate Up to 43.7 ACFM at 290 psig
Design Pressure 22 barg
Maximum Power 250 kW
Max. Temperature 750°C
Heat Removal Passive radiation or water-cooled gas-gap calorimeter

To provide capabilities for integrated power conversion testing, a modified, commercially available
Capstone C30 microturbine unit [21] has been acquired, as observed previously in Figure 8, and will be
integrated with MAGNET. Figure 9 shows the key components of the PCU, including the compressor,
turbine, alternator, internal recuperator, gas cooler, and power management and distribution (PMAD)
subsystem. The generated power can be fed to the electrical heaters in MAGNET to supplement
externally supplied electricity or to a load bank as part of the co-located Microgrid Research Laboratory.
The cycle is completely closed, and gas flows through the compressor and recuperator into the heat-
source HX, into the turbine, back into the recuperator, and finally into the gas cooler for the rejection of
waste heat.

PMAD

Compressor

Heat
Test Turbine Alternator
source
article
HX

Gas cooler

MAGNET loop Recuperator

PCU loop

Figure 9. Layout of PCU loop connected to the MAGNET loop by the heat-source HX.

The C30 recuperator is an annular gas-gas HX that is physically integrated within the PCU housing,
whereas the heat-source HX can be a gas-gas or liquid-gas HX, depending on reactor design. This PCU
has been modified to use electrical heating [22], rather than fossil-fuel combustion, to provide a
maximum power output of ~30 kWe in a closed Brayton cycle (CBC) loop with nitrogen as the working
fluid. A detailed PCU description and integration into MAGNET is given in Ref. [23]. A proposed set of
tests of the power-control schemes and heat-source/PCU coupling are outlined in Ref. [24].

10
 3.3 Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities
Advanced manufacturing (AM) has introduced new techniques for novel design, fabrication, and
instrumentation of HPs. The versatility of AM compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing
techniques can address heat pipe challenges such as manufacturing unique geometries, complex porous
wick structures, pore size and distribution, permeability thickness, thermal contact with chassis, sealing
the casing and wick structures, and reduction in material, cost, and time for production of low volume
components [25]. Preliminary investigations at INL of heat pipe design using digital light
photoluminescence have demonstrated the capability to combine the porous wick and solid region within
one component, optimization of internal pore structure and highlight the importance of digital light
photoluminescence (DLP) printing and sintering parameters [26]. Additionally, the flexibility of AM’s
layer-by-layer deposition and process control offers a novel avenue for which sensors and instrumentation
can be integrated into the structural design.
Recently with the high demand for real-time data collection to enable process and operational
monitoring with data analytics, interest has grown in AM components with sensors embedded within the
structures during the manufacturing process, also known as smart manufacturing or smart-enabled
components [27]. In heat pipes, measurements of temperature, pressure, and strain in probe locations of
interest such as wick structures, which are not achievable without integrated sensors can become viable
with AM. Researchers have demonstrated that even wireless communication sensors such as acoustic
wave temperature sensors can be successfully printed into components and maintain functionality [28].
Fiber-optic strain sensors embedded in a HP chassis using AM has also been performed and can be found
in detailed in Section 4.2.1. While AM-integrated sensing methods are emerging, literature still lacks
performance data of these components in harsh conditions such as high-temperature and corrosive
environments. New strategies and techniques utilizing AM should be further explored for HP design,
instrumentation, and experimentation within SPHERE and MAGNET facilities which can enable further
insight and improvements in overall HP operation and performance. A list of some AM methods available
at INL and a brief description can be found below:
• Laser engineered net shaping (LENSTM): A blown powder-based directed energy deposition (DED)
method which allows for in-situ spatial multi-material composition control.
• Digital light photoluminescence (DLP): A photopolymer resin-based method like binder jet which
allows highly complex geometries printed a green part and requires deboning and sintering for final
part.
• Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM): Gas tungsten arc-welding method with high deposition
efficiency and excellent for large-scale structures.
• Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF): A powder-bed DED method which provides a self-supported bed
allowing for complex geometries with porous and lattice structures.

4. INVESTIGATION OF ADVANCED MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

After the extensive literature review, this section provides the possible advanced measurement
techniques that can be applied for the high-temperature HP experiments with SPHERE and MAGNET
facilities at INL. The available techniques are summarized and outlined in the category of measuring
parameters of interest.

11
 4.1 Temperature Measurement
To determine the HP thermal performance, temperature measurement is a key parameter to
investigate. For the alkali metal charged HP, the resultant high-temperature and corrosive environment
limit the available component and instrument material options. Traditional temperature measurement
techniques, such as thermocouples, offer excellent compatibility and reliability, but are not scalable to
provide high-density measurements suitable for computational fluid dynamic code validation. Although it
will be quite tricky to get the temperature data inside the operating high-temperature HP, there are still
some available techniques for measuring the external and internal temperature distribution of the HP
during operation.
4.1.1 Thermal Imaging Camera
As a non-contact and non-intrusive measurement device, the thermal imaging camera detects the
infrared energy emitted, transmitted, or reflected by all materials and converts the energy factor into a
temperature reading or thermogram. As an example, Figure 10 demonstrates the temperature profiles
measured on the outer surface of the HPs using the thermal imaging camera. Because this still involves
traditional optic imaging methods, there are certain limitations for high-temperature applications,
including the emissivity variation with temperature, reflection from surfaces, etc.

Figure 10. Video snapshot with a thermal imaging camera filming the HP in use. Adapted from [29].

Since this thermal imaging technique requires a visualization of the test article during the whole
measuring process, it is a must to have optical transparency between the camera and the object of interest.
Because the SPHERE facility, as shown in Figure 7, has the capability to grant optical access with the
quartz tube containing the test article, the thermal imaging camera was utilized during the SPHERE
facility shakedown test. [20] As shown in Figure 11, the sodium-charged HP was located in the center of
the hexblock, surrounded by six cartridge heaters. Due to the concern of significant radiation heat loss
when exposing the heated components, the thermal imaging camera is utilized to verify the surface
temperature measurements.

12
Figure 11. Optical image from the digital camera of the SPHERE shakedown test during the heating
process. The HP was located in the center of the hexblock, surrounded by six cartridge heaters.

4.1.2 Distributed Temperature Sensor using Fiber-Optic

As a relatively new technique, distributed temperature sensing using fiber-optic is based on Rayleigh
scattering and swept-wavelength interferometry, thousands of temperature measurements can be acquired
along a single optical fiber [30]. The scheme and principle of the distributed temperature sensing system
is illustrated in Figure 12. A random distribution of impurities and structural variations along the fiber
core gives rise to a backscatter pattern that is unique to the fiber and generally stable. The spectrum and
amplitude of this pattern can be read to serve as a fiber signature. Given the mentioned advantage, a
distributed temperature sensor (DTS) can span large flow fields and function in environments that are
unsuitable for image-based techniques [31]. With the improved coating formula and protection, the DTSs
have been shown to function well at temperatures up to 600°C [32]. As a recent progress, Gerardi et al.
[33] immersed their improved DTSs in a liquid sodium pool and obtained high-resolution liquid sodium
temperature measurements.

Figure 12. The principle of distributed temperature sensing using fiber-optics. Adapted from [34].

13
 4.2 Stress/Strain Measurement
To assure the accuracy of the stress measurements, the traditional strain gauges will usually need to
be welded onto the test object. As an intrusive method, this will affect the structural integrity of the test
article, especially for high-temperature test conditions. For example, as for an American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) stamped pressure vessel, it is not allowed to spot-weld any strain gauges
to it after receipt. Therefore, some practical advanced measurement methods are introduced in this section
for the stress/strain investigations.
4.2.1 Embedded Fiber-Optics
The ability to embed sensors such as fiber-optics, which can provide spatially distributed temperature
and strain measurements within microreactor components for real-time health monitoring, would be
particularly advantageous. Recent advances in AM method of ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM)
have demonstrated the successful embedding of fiber-optics in soft materials, such as aluminum (Al) and
copper (Cu), by placing the sensors in machined cavities and ultrasonically welding over the top with thin
foils. In UAM, material is additively built through a sheet lamination process by welding together thin
metal foils through a combination of downward applied force and lateral scrubbing at ultrasonic
frequencies, as shown in Figure 13.
Leading the research group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 2019, Petrie et al. [35] used
UAM to embed fiber-optic strain sensors on top of a stainless-steel 304 (SS304) base with multiple nickel
(Ni) layers, relying on the severe plastic deformation of Ni around the fiber to achieve strain coupling to
the SS304 base. Differential thermal strains were accurately monitored along the length of the embedded
fiber at temperatures approaching 350°C before the fibers mechanically failed. The potential failure
reason could be that the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between SS304 and pure Ni could
result in delamination between the Ni foils and the SS304 matrix at higher temperatures. Based on this
experience, for the first time, Hyer et al. [36] proposed a new method to investigate the processing and
microstructure of UAM-fabricated SS304 foils to a SS304 base while simultaneously embedding fiber-
optic sensors in the metal matrix, as shown in Figure 14. The UAM processing parameters and foil
materials were first varied by using SS304 plates. Select plates were sectioned for microscopy to establish
the effects of the processing conditions on the embedding process. Fiber-optic sensors were then
successfully embedded within the SS304 test articles, including a pipe and a hexagonal component
representing a section of an HP–based microreactor core block, as illustrated in Figure 14. Temperature
and strain monitoring of the pipe test article were subsequently performed by using optical frequency
domain reflectometry (OFDR) during electrical heating to demonstrate the potential for spatially
distributed health monitoring during microreactor operation. Due to the high operating temperature, there
could be some difficulties to distinguish the temperature effects from the strain effects, which will need to
be investigated and quantified as future work.

14
Figure 13. Schematic representations of the (a) UAM process and (b) fiber embedding steps (section
view), which include building a few layers of material on the baseplate, machining a channel, laying the
fiber-optic in the channel, and layering foils on top to embed the fiber. Adapted from [37].

Figure 14. CAD models (a, b) and pictures (c, d) of the pipe (a, c) and hexagonal block (b, d) test articles
with embedded thermocouples and fiber-optic sensors. The thick red lines correspond to the location of
the thermocouples, the thin green lines designate the placements of the fiber-optics, and the thin blue lines
indicate open cavities for insertion of a floating fiber. Adapted from [36].

15
4.2.2 Digital Image Correlation
In addition to fiber-optic strain sensors, there is one more option known as DIC that can be
implemented for the SPHERE and MAGNET facility. DIC is a technique that may prove to be ideally
suited for the study of crack propagation and material deformation in real-world applications, as it has the
potential to become a less expensive, simple and yet accurate [38]. However, optic access like the quartz
tube containment in SPHERE is a must to allow for the use of the non-contact DIC technique for
characterizing local strains. DIC involves the use of one or more imagers for measuring deformation of
structures; therefore, it can achieve sub-pixel resolution. This makes it attractive in applications that allow
for line-of-sight viewing of the structure of interest because they allow the capture of deformation
information with a very high spatial resolution.
Having the capability to perform measurements at high-temperature test objects, DIC has shown itself
to be a very attractive technique for measuring strain and deformation at high spatial resolution as a non-
contact, imager-based technique that can potentially be used to measure strain and deformation in two or
three dimensions. In a typical DIC measurement, a speckle pattern is applied to the structure being tested
and is observed as it undergoes deformation loading using imagers [39]. In the case of the microreactor
core block, the speckle pattern will be applied to the test article using high-temperature paint. Similar to
the setup for SPHERE, INL’s MAGNET facility has optical windows that can provide required optical
access for DIC, which can measure the full-field deformation of the core block, along with all other
embedded and spatially distributed sensors that can be deployed within the MAGNET experiments. It is
important to match the size of the random speckles such that they take up roughly 5–10 pixels in the
image plane to maximize spatial resolution. The research team [40] supporting MRP is currently making
use of computer graphics simulations, as shown in Figure 15, to estimate the proper size of the speckle
pattern given the MAGNET facility viewport locations that can accommodate the imagers.

Figure 15. Simulation of 37-hole core block with speckle pattern for the MAGNET facility.

4.3 Void Fraction and Film Thickness Measurement

To model the HP with computational tools and predict its thermal behavior, the phase change physics
with the alkali metal charged in the HP is one of the most essential and crucial pieces—especially during
the HP transient scenarios (e.g., the starting and cooling phases). Even if there are available
computational software and models to deal with the phase change problems, like STAR-CCM+ and
MOOSE (Sockeye), the V&V efforts are inevitable and indispensable when dealing with the high-
temperature HP systems. Therefore, it will require the high-fidelity experimental database for the
operating HPs, and the void fraction measurement to support V&V effort.

16
4.3.1 Optical Measurement with High-Speed Camera
Based on a traditional optical measurement with high-speed cameras, it is possible that researchers
can visualize the inside of an operating HP. However, this measurement technique does have limitations
to consider when designing the experiment facilities. Unlike SPHERE and MAGNET, which are designed
to conduct high-temperature liquid metal HP experiments, Shi et al. [41] proposed and designed a Low-
Temperature Heat Pipe Test Facility (LTHPF) to develop a more detailed experimental database,
including internal measurements and flow visualizations. It was demonstrated previously that scaling laws
can be used to study high-temperature HPs using low-temperature test facilities [42], where the similarity
laws were derived directly from governing equations and constitutive relations using the modeling
framework developed by Shi et al. [43]. Figure 16 shows the LTHPF before the insulation. Utilizing
intrusive measuring techniques, the adiabatic section comprising of an instrumentation port, where liquid
film thickness, temperature, and pressure measurements can be taken, in addition to a visualization port.
The visualization port is comprised of a sight flow indicator with two stainless-steel flanges and a
borosilicate glass tubing. The section is insulated except for the sight glass of the port. The HP
experiments using LTHPF are still undergoing preliminary tests; therefore, the detailed instrument setup,
including all measurement uncertainties, will be made available when more experimental data becomes
available.

Figure 16. The LTHPF at the Thermal-Hydraulic Laboratory led by Prof. Shanbin Shi from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Adapted from [44].

17
4.3.2 Heat Pipe Visualization
The visualization of the heat pipe was performed at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Complex
phenomena that occur inside of the heat pipe corresponding to the external condition of the operation are
one of the largest concerns for modeling the overall thermal-hydraulic behavior of heat pipes. As the first
milestone of heat pipe visualization, TAMU performed heat pipe construction and experiment using a
water heat pipe. Later, works will be extended to the sodium heat pipe. The construction of the heat pipe
was conducted using a transparent glass tube. The evaporator region of the heat pipe was coated by a
clear glass heater and the condenser region has a cooling jacket made of the acrylic tube. As a result, the
entire heat pipe is made transparent, allowing for visualization of the heat pipe's interior phenomena. The
thermal-hydraulic behavior of the heat pipe was visually collected by high-speed cameras and infrared
(IR) cameras and analyzed.
The external surface temperature of the heat pipe is a result of complex phenomena inside of the heat
pipe and typically has been used as a validation set of data for heat pipe modeling. The application of an
IR camera to heat pipe research is beneficial not only due to the field-wise temperature information it
provides but also clear insights to understand the thermal behavior of heat pipes. Figure 17 shows some
examples of IR images obtained during the operation of the heat pipe. As shown on the left side, the
propagation of the heat from the evaporator to the condenser can be easily recognized when the outer
surface of the whole heat pipe is captured using the IR camera. The behavior of the heat pipe at the onset
of operating limitation also can be investigated using the IR camera, as shown on the right side of the
figure. Especially when the phenomenon of the fluids inside of the heat pipe is visualized simultaneously,
some insights to understand the evolution of the operating limitation might be achievable. This
visualization of the heat pipe using the IR camera and high-speed camera has been performed at TAMU.

Figure 17. Temperature measurement of IR camera for heat propagation (left) and operating limitation of
heat pipes.

Figure 18 shows the picture of the heat pipe visualization experimental setup. The experimental setup
consists of three parts, the heat pipe, the heating & cooling regions, and the measurement system. A heat
pipe with an annular wick was constructed. To fabricate the wick structure, mesh screens were wrapped
around a 1.2 m long rod with a diameter of 17 mm, then spot welded to retain the cylindrical shape along
the axial direction with 1.5 ~ 2.0 mm intervals. After removing the rod, the wick structure was inserted
into a 1.2 m borosilicate seamless glass tube pipe with an outer and inner diameter of 25.4 mm and 19.9
mm, respectively. The dimensions of the manufactured screen mesh are 18.8 mm of inner diameter, 0.49

18
mm of thickness, and 19.29 mm of outer diameter. Construction of heat pipe consists of cleaning,
vacuuming, fluid filling, and sealing processes. The glass tube and wick structure were thoroughly
cleaned using ethanol and acetone. Each end of the pipe was closed using compression fittings. One side
of the pipe was connected to the vacuum pump and working fluid filling system. After -90 kPa of vacuum
pressure was achieved by the vacuum pump, 240 mL of deionized water was inserted into the pipe as a
working fluid. Then, the pipe was sealed by a locking ball valve connected to the vacuum pump. As a
final step of the fabrication, leakage was checked to verify the condition inside the heat pipe. The
fabricated heat pipe with an annular multi-layered screen mesh was then fixed with a horizontal geometry.
A transparent heater, the evaporator section of the heat pipe, was connected to a direct current (DC)
power supply with a maximum output of 3 kW. A water jacket was installed at the condensing region of
the heat pipe to remove the heat transferred by the heat pipe. The inlet temperature of the cooling fluid
inside the water jacket was controlled by a Merilin M33 chiller from the Neslab company. To examine the
boiling phenomenon and fluid flow in the heater more precisely, high-speed cameras are mounted at the
top and bottom. An infrared camera is installed at the bottom to monitor the temperature change of the
heater. Because this experiment emphasizes visual observation of the heat pipe's interior phenomena
rather than thermal or hydrodynamic analyses, we concentrated on establishing observation equipment
capable of viewing this well and did not apply any insulation.
As shown on the right side of Figure 18, the flow of fluid inside the heat pipe was visually observed
in this experiment. In particular, the boiling phenomena occurring in the evaporator section and the
temperature change associated with it were primarily monitored. Various patterns of boiling were
observed, and rapid behaviors of phase change were captured by a high-speed camera. Local temperature
information achieved using the IR camera was compared with the local phenomenon. At a higher power
range, internal phenomena during the progress of operating limitation were captured, and corresponding
changes in surface temperature was investigated. It was found that the distribution of the liquid at the gap
of the annular heat pipe is a primary factor for the external temperature distribution, and the interval of
the large-scaled boiling, Geyser boiling, for example, is also an important factor.
As a further study, TAMU is planning to apply frequency based image analysis, and perform multiple
sets of experiments with expanded boundary conditions to correlate external temperature and internal
phenomena.

Figure 18. TAMU Experimental setup of the heat pipe visualization experiment (left), and an example of
fluid flow inside of the heat pipe captured by high speed camera with 100W input power, 0 degree
inclination, 2000 fps of camera frame rate (right).

19
4.3.3 Radiation-based Tomography
As supervised by Prof. Annalisa Manera and Dr. Victor Petrov, a state-of-the-art sodium-filled HP
experimental facility termed MISOH1 was designed and constructed to generate high-fidelity
experimental data at the University of Michigan (UM). The research investigates the HP startup process
and its performance under various operation conditions, including the effects of the heat transfer rate, the
cooling condition of the condenser section, and HP orientation. Figure 19 shows the schematic diagram of
the test facility. The test section assembly consists of an evaporator (254 mm), an adiabatic (508 mm),
and a condenser (254 mm) section, respectively. At the evaporator section, the silicon carbide (SiC)
double spiral heater—consisting of a 52 mm outer diameter, a 40 mm inner diameter, and a 254 mm
heating length—was installed concentrically with the HP to supply heat through a radiational heat
transfer. The heater can be used within the maximum power of 4,500 W and a maximum continuous
operating temperature of 1200°C. The material of the heater was selected with the consideration of a low
Z-number to reduce the attenuation of X-rays for the radiography measurement.

Figure 19. Schematic diagram of a separate-effect test facility for a single sodium HP. Adapted from [45].

A high-speed X-ray radiography system was applied to observe the two-phase flow phenomena inside
the sodium HP during startup operation. Figure 20 shows the schematic diagram of the X-ray radiography
system. It is comprised of an X-ray generator (max. voltage: 150 kV and max. current: 400 mA), a
cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector, and a control system. As the working principle of the radiation
attenuation measurement, the photons emitted by the radioactive X-ray tube source are attenuated or
absorbed as they travel through various materials of the object. The intensity of the attenuated radiation is
then measured by the detector located on the opposite side of the test section, as illustrated in Figure 20.

20
Figure 20. The schematic diagram of the X-ray radiography system. Adapted from [45].

As a successful demonstration of the operating HP visualization by the UM research group, Figure 21

shows eight X-ray snapshots at pre-selected times during the startup process. The images were taken at
the lower region (e.g., 0 –100 mm) of the HP evaporator. The area in blue on the images indicates strong
x-ray attenuation; on the other hand, the area in red indicates weak x-ray attenuation. The stainless-steel
end cap of the HP is presented at the bottom of the images with strong attenuation, and moved down due
to the thermal expansion of the HP during the heating process. The stripe patterns on the background
represent the projection of the SiC heater that was not completely removed in the calibration process.

Figure 21. X-ray images of two-phase flow in the evaporator section of the HP. Adapted from [45].

21
4.3.4 Radiation Diagnostics with Sodium Isotope (Na-22)
Besides the radiation-based tomography, there is another way to utilize the radiation method for
visualization inside a certain structure, which is known as a radionuclide scan for medical use. A
radionuclide scan is an imaging technique that uses a small dose of a radioactive isotope called a ‘tracer’
that can detect cancer, trauma, infection, or other disorders [46].
Inspired by this technique with radioactive isotopes, an innovative idea can be proposed to customize
a dummy sodium (Na)-charged HP with an Na radioactive isotope known as ‘Na-22.’ During the HP
operation, the characteristic 511 keV photon, as shown in Figure 22, can be detected whenever Na-22
emits positrons as part of its decay process. With the radiation detector, the count density will provide
information regarding the sodium distributions as a sodium-charged HP operates. However, due to the
limited information reported in the literature, this is still a preliminary hypothesis, and how practical this
method will turn out to be will still need to be examined and verified as future work.

Figure 22. The energy spectrum of gamma rays from an Na source. Adapted from [47].

4.4 Advanced Laser Spectroscopy for Velocimetry, Pressure, and

Temperature Measurement inside an HP
Based on recent investigations, Prof. Philippe Bardet from the George Washington University (GWU)
has proposed utilizing laser spectroscopy to measure the temperature, pressure, and velocity of the vapor
region within a sodium-charged HP. Prof. Bardet has used similar techniques in water vapor for High-
Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in the past.
Sodium vapor spectrum is well known, and the sodium characteristic D-line is even a common
calibration light source. It offers a few diagnostic routes to directly probe the gas with laser-matter
interaction principles. While more refined and sophisticated to deploy, such techniques offer tremendous
advantages over traditional probe approaches. They are non-intrusive, of dynamic order 0 (i.e. their
response is instantaneous), uncertainty analysis is readily traceable. Figure 23 shows the energy levels of
Sodium vapor. The main two D-lines correspond to visible light spectrum and are the reason for the nice
yellow glow of sodium lights. There are a broad range of lasers that operate near these wavelengths
(other transitions can be probed as well), and Figure 24 shows a laser in resonance with sodium in a gas
cell.

22
Figure 23. Sodium energy levels: the transitions 3P1/2-3S1/2 & 3P3/2-3S1/2 corresponds to the sodium
D-lines at λ=589.6 & 589.0 nm, respectively.

Figure 24. Tunable laser being absorbed in resonance with sodium in a gas cell. The orange line marks
the laser path. (Courtesy Dr. Michael Button, who developed TDLAS during his PhD with Dr. Bardet.)

The two main approaches that could be considered for measurements of velocity, temperature, and
pressure are tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) or laser induced fluorescence (LIF).
For the sake of conciseness, principles of TDLAS are briefly described here.

23
TDLAS relies on Beer-Lambert law of absorbance, which relates laser beam attenuation to the system
dimensions, gas composition, pressure, and temperature:

𝐼
𝜏𝜈 = ( 𝑡 ) = exp (-𝛼𝜈 ) (1)
𝐼𝑜 𝜈

where 𝜏𝜈 is the transmittance of laser light, 𝐼𝑡 is the transmitted laser intensity, 𝐼𝑜 is the incident laser
intensity, and 𝛼𝜈 is the spectral absorbance term defined by [48]:

𝛼𝜈 = 𝑃 ∙ 𝑋𝑎𝑏𝑠 ∙ 𝑆 (𝑇) ∙ 𝜙 ∙ 𝐿 (2)

where P is the total pressure (atm), 𝐿 is the local distance along the beam propagation (cm), 𝑋𝑎𝑏𝑠 is the
local mole fraction of the absorbing species, 𝑆 is the line-strength of the transition (cm-2 atm-1), T is the
local temperature (K), and 𝜙 is the line-shape function (cm). The line-strength is a function of
temperature alone and relates the fraction of molecules in a given rovibrational state through the partition
function, which describes the statistical properties of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium where the
states obey a Boltzmann distribution.
Theoretically, the line-shape function of a given absorption transition is derived from the physical
interaction between the absorbing species and is dependent on temperature and pressure. The overall line-
shape used to model these behaviors is a Voigt profile, which is a convolution of Gaussian and Lorentzian
distributions. Gaussian contributions are derived from Doppler broadening, which is caused by the
random thermal motion of absorbing molecules. Lorentzian contributions are derived from molecular
collisions resulting in broadening and shifting of the linewidth (pressure broadening and shifting). Finally,
coherent flow will lead to a Doppler shift of the absorption spectra. With the laser spectrum plotted in
terms of the laser signal’s intensity versus wavelength, Figure 25 shows the overall principle of technique
and how the physical quantities are probed.

Figure 25. With the angled laser orientation setup, the laser spectrum can be used for post-processing to
measure the velocity, pressure, and temperature in the vapor core region.

24
 To apply the TDLAS technique to the internal part of the HP, small through ports estimated to be less
than 5 mm in diameter will need to be drilled through the HP wall. As shown in Figure 26, there are two
ways to set-up the diagnostic experiments. The straight-on approach, as shown in Figure 26 (a), will fire
the laser beam perpendicular with respect to the HP wall. From the opposite side, the laser signal receiver
will examine and plot the laser spectrum after it passes through the HP internal vapor core region. In this
configuration the sensing is insensitive to Doppler shifting and we will only probe integrated temperature
and pressure in the gas core. To reconstruct the absorption peak shape and correlate its shape to Voigt
profiles, in TDLAS one scans the laser over a narrow spectral region.
In the second configuration, the laser is to have an angle to capture Doppler shift as well, Figure
26(b). Here two visual ports on the opposite side of the HP wall will allow the incoming laser beam to
have an angle with the HP wall. The Doppler shift will be obtained by scanning a fraction of the laser
beam through a reference cell (similar setup seen in Figure 24) and the peak location compared. For
reference at the speed predicted in the HP, we anticipate a large Doppler shift of nearly one wavenumber,
which will make the comparison to the zero-flow (reference) cell very accurate.

Figure 26. Two different ways to employ the advanced laser diagnostics that can be applied to an
operating HP: (a) the straight-on approach with the laser perpendicular to the HP wall; (b) the angled laser
orientation with a certain angle to the HP wall.

Overall, this method is based on well-established principles that are actually used to measure gas flow
in the troposphere from ground base lasers. While this has not been demonstrated in nuclear applications
or heat pipes, we think this technique is quite mature, requires limited resources while achieving the HP
internal measurement for velocity, pressure, and temperature at the same time. The main challenge for the
deployment of the technique is technical in nature: the design of fiber optics launch inside the heat pipe.
From experience in Dr. Bardet’s lab, the openings can be as small as 1.25 mm in diameter. To protect the
optical elements, diamond coating or diamond anvil cell will need to be applied to the collimation optics.
While this sounds expensive, one should keep in mind the small size needed and broad availability of
industrial diamonds for diamond anvil cell. Given the balance of the associated benefits and challenges
for HP instrumentation, it is worthwhile to investigate this laser diagnostic technique further.

25
 5. SUMMARY AND FUTURE PLAN
An HP-cooled microreactor is among one of the most promising designs that are being actively
investigated by the MRP. However, due to the high operating temperature, it is extremely challenging to
apply traditional measurement techniques to measure the internal mechanisms of liquid metal HPs when
they operate. To gain insights into the HP internal physics, there are some urgent and crucial needs to
obtain the variables of interest listed below:
• Temperature on internal and external side of the HP during the full operation cycle
• Stress and displacement measurement for the containment holding the HP
• Internal measurement of void fraction and film thickness for operating HPs
• Vapor velocity in the HP core during operation
• Sodium vapor pressure inside the HPs at different operating stages.
After an extensive literature review, this study summarizes the preliminary investigations of advanced
measurement and visualization techniques for high-temperature HP experiments, which can be
implemented to support the microreactor research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) process.
Advanced manufacturing capabilities have also been examined to support some of these advanced
measurement techniques. Innovative techniques are being explored to measure various parameters and
support validation needs for high fidelity tools that are being developed under DOE NEAMS program.
Future collaborations with other U.S. research institutes and universities will be considered to
examine the feasibility of some advanced HP measurement techniques. The objective of this report is
aimed to investigate various advanced measurement and visualization techniques that could potentially be
utilized with non-nuclear test beds such as SPHERE and MAGNET. The experimental database that
would be generated under the DOE MRP will support and enable accelerated development and
demonstration of various microreactor concepts, and assist other DOE programs with V&V effort.

26
 6. REFERENCES
[1] Idaho National Laboratory, "Microreactor Program (MRP) Website, Gateway for Accelerated
Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN)." Available:
https://gain.inl.gov/SitePages/MicroreactorProgram.aspx (accessed 30 June 2022).
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