Improved fuel reliability means reduced fuel failures in reactor operation. Fuel failures, with their consequent adverse impact on the environment and requirements for additional waste management, result in costs for remediation, 'failed core' operation and maintenance. Therefore, poor performance of fuel can lead to uncompetitive operational conditions for a nuclear power plant. A revision of the earlier edition, this publication has been significantly extended to support nuclear fuel designers, manufacturers, reactor operators, and fuel engineers and managers on fuel design and design changes, fuel manufacturing, qualification, in-reactor operation, and on-site services to achieve excellence in fuel reliability and performance and safe operation of nuclear fuel under all applicable plant states.

• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1. Background
  • 1.2. Objective
  • 1.3. Scope
  • 1.4. Structure
• 2. FUEL DESIGNS FOR DIFFERENT WATER COOLED REACTOR TYPES
  • 2.1. General description of fuel assembly designs
    • 2.1.1. Light water reactor fuel assemblies
    • 2.1.2. Water water energy reactor fuel assemblies
    • 2.1.3. Pressurized water reactor fuel bundles
    • 2.1.4. Small modular reactor fuel assemblies
  • 2.2. Materials used in current fuel assembly designs
  • 2.3. New types of fuel
• 3. IN-REACTOR FUEL DEGRADATION, FAILURE MECHANISMS AND ON-SITE FUEL INSPECTIONS
  • 3.1. Fuel performance issues and mitigation actions
  • 3.2. Pre-loading inspections and verification
    • 3.2.1. Fresh fuel
    • 3.2.2. Irradiated fuel
  • 3.3. On-site fuel inspection and services
• 4. FUEL DESIGN CHANGES TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE
  • 4.1. Overall approach
  • 4.2. Design and operating margins quantification and management
    • 4.2.1. Definition of design and operating margins
    • 4.2.2. Quantification of margins
    • 4.2.3. Management of margins
  • 4.3. Good practices for fuel design change verification
    • 4.3.1. Definition and determination of fuel design and safety limits
    • 4.3.2. Code verification, validation and uncertainty quantification
    • 4.3.3. Fuel design and safety evaluation methods
• 5. QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF FUEL DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
  • 5.1. Preface
  • 5.2. General concepts of quality, quality control, quality assurance and management system
  • 5.3. Quality management system documentation applicable to nuclear facilities and activities
  • 5.4. General requirements applicable to fuel design and manufacturing
    • 5.4.1. Organizational activities
    • 5.4.2. Human resources management
    • 5.4.3. Documentation management
    • 5.4.4. Non-conformance management
    • 5.4.5. Assessments and audits
    • 5.4.6. Additional requirements — customer surveillance of fuel assembly suppliers
    • 5.4.7. Continuous improvement process
  • 5.5. Specific requirements applicable to fuel design
    • 5.5.1. Design control
    • 5.5.2. Design documentation
    • 5.5.3. Design qualification process
    • 5.5.4. Typical steps for qualification and licensing processes for new types of fuel
  • 5.6. Specific requirements applicable to fuel manufacture
    • 5.6.1. Management of procurement
    • 5.6.2. Management of production activities
  • 5.7. Quality assurance for software tools and calculation techniques
    • 5.7.1. General conditions
    • 5.7.2. Software requirements and development authorization
    • 5.7.3. Software development or modification
    • 5.7.4. Software verification and validation plan
    • 5.7.5. Software qualification
    • 5.7.6. Software review
    • 5.7.7. Software release
    • 5.7.8. Software documentation
    • 5.7.9. Problem reporting
    • 5.7.10. Software retirement
• 6. GOOD PRACTICES TO IMPROVE FUEL RELIABILITY IN REACTOR OPERATION
  • 6.1. Good practices to achieve failure free fuel performance
  • 6.2. Examples of industrial guidelines
    • 6.2.1. WANO guidelines for fuel reliability
    • 6.2.2. INPO guidelines for achieving excellence in nuclear fuel performance
    • 6.2.3. EPRI guidelines and handbooks
• Appendix I FUEL DESIGN AND SAFETY LIMITS
• Appendix II VERIFICATION OF FUEL DESIGN AND SAFETY LIMITS
• Appendix III MAJOR STEPS OF NUCLEAR FUEL MANUFACTURING AND RESPECTIVE QUALITY CONTROL STEPS
• REFERENCES
• Annex I EXAMPLES OF FUEL INSPECTION AND SERVICE TECHNIQUES
• Annex II EXAMPLE OF PROCESS QUALIFICATION
• Annex III CERTIFIED REFERENCE MATERIALS INFORMATION
• Annex IV PRODUCT CONTROL FOR PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR, BOILING WATER REACTOR AND WATER WATER ENERGY REACTOR FUELS
• ABBREVIATIONS
• CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW
• STRUCTURE OF THE IAEA NUCLEAR ENERGY SERIES