This 5 day course provides a detailed description of the fuel rod design process. Key inputs to the fuel rod design are identified and the fuel rod design criteria, design codes, and methods of analyses are described.  At the end of this course, the participant will gain familiarity with the fuel rod design criteria and will understand the process to perform fuel rod design related calculations including rod internal pressure calculations, clad stress calculations, and fuel rod temperature calculations. The participant will also be introduced to some of the fuel rod design criteria methods and changes introduced with PAD5. The course will include ALFRED training and close on a tour of the Westinghouse Specialty Metals Plant (Optional).

The purpose of PWR Fuel Rod Design is to ensure the integrity of the fuel rod throughout its projected lifetime. Fuel rods are designed to satisfy a variety of conservative design bases during both Condition 1 and 2 events. For each design basis, the performance of the limiting fuel rod (with appropriate allowance for uncertainties) must not exceed the design limit.

Criteria addressed as part of the fuel rod design process include rod internal pressure, cladding stress and strain, cladding corrosion and fuel temperatures. The fuel rod design process establishes parameters such as pellet size and density, cladding-pellet diametral gap, plenum size, helium pressurization levels, and fuel burnup capabilities.

Day 1

• Introduction
• Fuel Rod Design and Codes Overview
• Design Interface Requirements
• Fuel Performance Models (Part I)

Day 2

• Fuel Performance Models (Part I Continued)
• Fuel Performance Models (Part II)
• Fuel Temperature Analysis

Day 3

• Rod Internal Pressure-No Gap Reopening
• Rod Internal Pressure-DNB Propagation
• Clad Corrosion

Day 4

• Clad Stress and Transient Clad Strain
• Steady State Strain
• Other Fuel Rod Design Criteria

Day 5

• 3D FAC
• ALFRED Training
• Tour of Westinghouse Specialty Metals Plant in Blairsville, PA (Optional)