[en] To obtain a basic understanding of the deformation and failure behaviors of 20% cold-worked type 316 stainless steel cladding during reactor over-power and loss-of-coolant transients, the mechanical response of the cladding was investigated, using a true 2 to 1 stress-state transient tube-burst method at a heating rate of 5.b⁰C/s (10⁰F/s). The uniform diametral strain to failure of the tubular cladding specimens was uniquely defined, based on strain profiles of the failure specimens and high-speed motion pictures taken during the tests. The effects of initial hoop stress, specimen length and metallurgical condition on the transient tube-burst response were studied. The heat-to-heat variation of the test results were examined. The uniform diametral strains to failure for the three heats of cladding tested in the present study were found to be consistently higher than the strains reported by Hunter et al. (Auth.)