Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

Yun Long

Edward Jean Lahoda

Peng Xu

Lu Cai

John L Lyons

An improvement in a nuclear fuel rod is disclosed. The improved fuel rod includes a cladding tube, a plurality of fuel pellets stacked within the cladding tube, and a liquid material filling the gap between the fuel pellets and the cladding tube. The liquid material is selected from those having a thermal conductivity higher than that of helium, a melting point lower than about 400° C., a boiling point higher than 1600° C., and which are capable of wetting both the fuel pellets and the cladding sufficient to form a protective layer over the pellets and to wick into openings that may form in the cladding.

Fuel rod having heat transfer liquid filling the gap between fuel pellets and cladding tube

An elongate fuel element is described that has a silicon carbide cladding enclosing a fuel, such as UO, wherein the fuel is dimensioned relative to the cladding to define gaps at each lateral end of the enclosure sufficiently large such that upon swelling in use, the fuel does not increase the strain on the cladding beyond the limits of the claddings strain tolerance. The lateral gaps at the ends of the fuel allow lateral expansion during swelling that reduces the strain on the cladding.

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Allison Park, PA, United States of America

Yun Long