Observation of Porosity Reduction in a Densification-Prone Test Fuel Rod: Data and Analysis

Instrumented fuel assembly (IFA)-431 was irradiated in the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR) for the purpose of extending the steady-state data base. Rod 6 of this assembly began irradiation with UO{sub 2} fuel of 92% theoretical density (TD) that was unstable with respect to in-reactor densification. Thermal resintering tests resulted in a final density of 95.3% TD while post-irradiation examination (PIE) indicated a final density of 96.5% TD. Observed microstructural changes were consistent with published densification studies; there was a marked depletion of submicrometer diameter pores and total pore volume. However, grain size increased only slightly, indicating that internal pellet temperatures did not reach the 1875K applied in resintering tests. Oensification was observed to increase the temperatures in rod 6, but temperatures did not become as high as for a sibling rod that simulated instantaneous densification. Temperatures calculated with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fuel performance computer codes were generally higher than observed temperatures