Progress in the development and benchmarking of the COMETHE code for fuel rod behaviour prediction

Progress in the development and in the benchmarking of the COMETHE code is illustrated in different areas, mainly in relation to steady-state fuel behaviour. The topics discussed are clad corrosion at high burnup and its thermal and mechanical consequences; behaviour of burnable toxic fuel; low temperature microstructure dependent fuel swelling; ovalization of the cladding and creep collapse; pre- and post-bump fission gas distribution; and prediction of clad failure. (author)