Sensitivity of fuel rod behaviour on as-fabricated characteristics

BELGONUCLEAIRE had the opportunity over the last 18 years to build-up a broad technical background in the field of LWR reload fuels. The accumulated experimental data bases cover fuel in a large range of as-fabricated characteristics, power ratings and burn-up, for both UO2 and UO2-PuO2 fuels. Design tools developed and qualified for the design and the evaluation of the operational limits in normal and accidental conditions enable one to enlarge the investigated data. Their sensitivity to fuel characteristics included in the specification allows one to justify the selected nominal characteristics and to assess permissible tolerance or derogations. (Auth.)