Nuclear Energy Agency Online Bulletin

November 2000

Nuclear Science


A seminar on Fission Gas Behaviour in Water Reactor Fuels was held on 23-26 September 2000 at Cadarache, France. It was organised by the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), Électricité de France (EdF), Framatome and Cogéma under the aegis of the OECD/NEA and the IAEA. The aim of the seminar was to draw a comprehensive picture of our current understanding of fission gas behaviour and its impact on the fuel rod, under the widest possible conditions. The seminar was attended by about 100 participants from 24 countries, representing 46 organisations. During the seminar, 38 papers were presented.

This seminar was the second in a series of three that started with a seminar on "Thermal Performance in Light Water (High Burnup) Fuels" held at Cadarache, France in March 1998. The proceedings of this first seminar have been published and are available at www.oecd-nea.org/tools/publication?div=SCI-DB#1247. The series will be completed with a meeting devoted to "Pellet-Clad Mechanical Interaction" in 2002.

An expert meeting on "Scientific Issues in Fuel Behaviour" was held in connection with the seminar, discussing the status, feedback and further work required for the International Fuel Performance Experiments database (IFPE). More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/science/fuel/ifpelst.html.