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High-resolution two-phase flow data in the rod bundle are important in the development and validation of high-fidelity models for computational fluid dynamics and subchannel codes, in particular, those pertaining to light water reactor cooling systems. The Michigan Adiabatic Rod Bundle Flow Experiment (MARBLE) has been constructed as a modular assembly of an 8 × 8 lattice rod bundle to simulate scaled pressurized water reactor and boiling water reactor subchannel assemblies. To establish a high-spatial resolution database of the void fraction in the reactor fuel assembly geometries, tomographic measurements were performed with the High-Resolution Gamma-ray Tomography System, which was designed and built in house; the detector system has a spatial resolution of less than 1.0 mm using 240 LYSO (Lu1.8Y0.2SiO5) scintillators with a fan-beam array. In the present study, the local void fraction was measured with the MARBLE facility under various air-water flow conditions (jg = 0.04 to 0.85 m/s and jl = 0.12 to 0.77 m/s) covering from bubbly to cap-turbulent flows. The local void fraction was also successfully measured under nonuniform and asymmetric air bubble distribution conditions with an investigation of the effect of spacer grids and mixing vanes on void drift across subchannels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMicroreactor 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 recent heat pipe experiments from six major institutions, describing their designs, instruments, methods, and results. In addition, this paper also presents a background on heat pipe experiments along with discussions on instrumentation, accident scenarios, wick enhancement, and proposed future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]