[en] Thermal transients which occur during the post-subcooled blowdown regime of a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) can cause significant changes in light water reactor (LWR) fuel rod material properties and geometry. The effects of these structural changes must be assessed to insure that a coolable geometry of the fuel system is maintained. An overall assessment of the fuel rod structural integrity has been made by considering the degraded structural properties of the fuel rod in conjunction with safe-shutdown earthquake (SSE) mechanical loadings and employing conventional stress analysis and fracture mechanics techniques