Effects of azimuthal temperature distribution and rod internal gas energy on ballooning deformation and rupture opening formation of a 17 × 17 type PWR fuel cladding tube under LOCA-simulated burst conditions

In order to contribute to better modeling and evaluation of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal expected under loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, LOCA-simulated cladding burst experiments were performed on as-received nonirradiated 17 × 17 type Zircaloy-4 cladding specimens that were internally pressurized. The experiments were designed to terminate at burst occurrence to focus on ballooning and rupture opening formation and to investigate the effects of various factors. The postburst cladding hoop strain decreased with the increase in azimuthal temperature difference (ATD) of the cladding, as found previously. The rupture opening size increased with the increase in ATD and the increase in energy of the pressurized gas stored inside the pressure boundary of the test sample system. Comparison with the existing database, which included tests on irradiated rods containing fuel pellets, suggested that formation of the rupture opening was influenced by the characteristic behavior of high burnup fuels, such as limited gas migration in the cladding tube due to fuel–cladding bonding and interaction of the ejected fuel fragments with the cladding tube.