The MPMRI (Multi-Phase Magnetic Resonance Imaging) project has officially been launched as part of the OFFERR call for projects, supported by SNETP (Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform) and funded by EURATOM. Its aim is to develop European collaboration around key nuclear research infrastructures and facilitate access to this cutting-edge equipment.
This Franco-German project brings together two major industrial players – EDF R&D and Framatome GmbH – as well as two leading research laboratories: the LEMTA and the MRI-Flow Lab (University of Rostock). Together, they will explore the potential of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to study liquid-gas flows, a key issue in understanding thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the nuclear field.
LEMTA’s 600 MHz MRI platform, equipped with the ROMANE (RésOnance MAgnétique Nucléaire d’Ecoulements diphasiques) experimental loop, was recently included in the EUFN catalogue (European User Facility Network), making it easier to access at European level. This platform is the result of eight years of collaboration between LEMTA’s IRM for Engineering team and EDF R&D’s MFEE department, and a joint effort initiated in 2020 to characterise bubble flows in complex geometries.
In this project, research will focus on configurations that are more representative of reactor conditions, in particular fuel rod holding grids and mixing fins. In parallel, experiments will be carried out at the MRI-Flow Lab in Rostock, which is equipped with a large horizontal MRI, renowned for its expertise in MRI velocimetry.
Lasting 18 months, the project is being funded to the tune of €300,000, including €150,000 for LEMTA.
🔹 Framatome GmbH project coordinator: Markus Rehm
🔹 EDF R&D contact: Antoine Archer
🔹 MRI-Flow Lab manager: Martin Bruschewski
🔹 LEMTA Manager: Sébastien Leclerc, accompanied by Jean-Christophe Perrin, Christophe Morlot and Didier Stemmelen
📅 Launch meeting: 31 March 2025
600 MHz MRI platform equipped with the ROMANE loop (RésOnance MAgnétique Nucléaire d’Ecoulements diphasiques)