Abstract
Samples of Zircaloy cladding from UO 2 fuel rods, irradiated in water-cooled power reactors under two regimes of operation, were examined in a scanning electron microscope to determine the nature of the deposits formed on the inner surfaces of the cladding. In one case, the fuel rods examined had operated under conditions that resulted in significant fission gas release and solid fission product deposition on the cladding walls. In the other case, the rod examined had operated at a low power to a large burnup but with almost no fission gas release. That cladding was remarkably free of solid deposits of fission product. The likely mechanism of transport of fission products from the fuel to the cladding was through the vapor. The volatilities of the fission product compounds were estimated on the basis of the compounds expected to be present in the light of the oxygen potential calculated for the system.
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