Fuel Experimental Data

Improved understanding of fuel performance can lead to a reduction in operating margins, increased flexibility in fuel management and improved operating economics.

To better understand fuel performance, the IAEA has addressed different aspects of fuel behaviour modelling in a series of coordinated research projects aimed at:

assessing fuel performance codes and supporting countries with code development and application needs,
building a database of well-defined experiments suitable for code validation,
transferring a mature fuel modelling code to developing countries and supporting its adaptation to the requirements of reactors,
providing guidance on applying that code to reactor operation and safety assessments, and
providing guidelines for code quality assurance, code licensing and code application to fuel licensing.

The IAEA Fuel database is a collection of fuel performance experimental data on power reactor fuel performance (water-cooled and fast neutron reactors) derived from IAEA coordinated research projects.

The purpose of this database is to preserve information from fuel performance experiments, such that the data is useful and in a form that can be used for code development and validation. Therefore, each dataset includes sufficient information to assemble an input file to run a code and information against which to compare predictions (data on fuel temperatures, fission gas release (FGR), fuel swelling, clad deformation (e.g., creep-down, ridging) and mechanical interactions. In addition to direct in-pile measurement, PIE information is included on clad diameters, oxide thickness, hydrogen content, fuel grain size, porosity, Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements on cesium, xenon, other fission products and actinides.

The IAEA would like to thank the OECD/NEA Halden Reactor Project for providing data for some of the IAEA coordinated research projects.

Datasets relating to fuels for thermal reactors can be found here:

Datsets relating to fuel for fast reactors can be found here: