A Critical Review of Heat Pipe Experiments in Nuclear Energy Applications

Wahlquist, Scott; Hansel, Joshua; Sabharwall, Piyush; Ali, Amir F.

doi:10.1080/00295639.2022.2082230

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…This subsection discusses some of these different experimental approaches. Readers may refer to Wahlquist et al [29] for a comprehensive review of previous heat pipe experiments in nuclear energy applications.…”

Section: Heat Pipe Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High temperature operation and the presence of liquid metals create a multitude of challenges for the integration of instruments to test facilities. Therefore, liquid metal heat pipe experiments have mostly utilized wall temperature measurements via thermocouples or other types of temperature sensors [29], as well as systems to monitor and regulate the evaporator power input or temperature. In addition, some have utilized a calorimeter at the condenser to calculate the power removed and estimate heat losses.…”

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research and development efforts for HPMRs include a variety of studies using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods [14,[29][30][31][32]. In particular, there has been a recent acceleration in experimental work related to heat pipes for microreactor applications, due to the fact that detailed highfidelity experimental data is lacking in literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyses Supporting Heat Pipe Experiments

Yilgor,

Sabharwall,

Hartvigsen

2023

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This internship report presents thermal analysis support aiding the development efforts of advanced reactor systems as a part of the Department of Energy Microreactor Program. The heat pipe microreactor (HPMR) is one such reactor concept where the heat from the reactor core is removed via passively operating heat pipes. Heat pipes have found numerous applications in many fields due to their simplicity, effectiveness, and reliability. The present work includes a review of heat pipe experiments and experimental techniques, ideation on experiments using the SPHERE test bed, identification of heat pipe phenomena of interest, and suggestions for future directions on heat pipe experiments. Hence, it directly supports the development of heat pipe microreactors (HPMRs).

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Section: Heat Pipe Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyses Supporting Heat Pipe Experiments

Yilgor,

Sabharwall,

Hartvigsen

2023

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“…High-temperature operation and the presence of liquid metals create a multitude of challenges for instrument integration to test facilities, including difficulties in taking internal measurements, material compatibility issues, and high-costs. Therefore, liquid-metal heat pipe experiments have mostly utilized wall temperature measurements via thermocouples or other types of external sensors [29], as well as systems to monitor and regulate evaporator power input or temperature. In addition, some have utilized a calorimeter at the condenser to calculate the power that is removed.…”

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research and development (R&D) efforts for HPMRs include a variety of studies using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods [14,[29][30][31][32]. In particular, there has been a recent acceleration in experimental work related to heat pipes for microreactor applications, because detailed high-fidelity experimental data is lacking in literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat Pipe Cooled Microreactors

Yilgor,

Sellers,

Hartvigsen

et al. 2024

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Microreactor technologies are required to provide reliable carbon-free power generation in remote applications. The heat pipe cooled microreactor concept in particular offers notable advantages due to the passive operation of heat pipes enabling increased reliability and simplicity in a more compact form factor. There is a significant need for experimental work to aid and expedite the deployment of heat pipe microreactors due to their unique technological characteristics. Thus, there has been increased interest in heat pipe experiments by numerous institutions in order to support these efforts. The present work is a comprehensive review of heat pipe experiments, describing instrumentation, methods, phenomena of interest, and recent developments. In addition, legacy work on the operation of high-temperature heat pipes under irradiation is reviewed and discussed. Furthermore, the verification and validation efforts for the flagship heat pipe simulation code, Sockeye, are reviewed and requirements for future experiments are outlined. Finally, future directions are proposed for heat pipe experimentation.

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