Abstract
Burst testing has long been a relied-on method for assessing fuel cladding materials in light-water reactor
accident scenarios. However, burst testing historically provided minimal in-situ observations beyond a few
thermocouple readings, pressure from transducers, and post-test deformation measurements. Acquisition of
full cladding thermomechanical data throughout a burst test would be invaluable to fuel system
qualification, material model development and fuel performance code validation, such as the BISON fuel
performance code. Recently, methodologies for simultaneously applying 2-dimensional digital image
correlation and infrared thermography techniques to quantify the relationship between temperature, internal
cladding pressure, and deformation during burst testing were developed. This work details results from the
application of these techniques to burst testing of Zircaloy-4 cladding segments subjected to loss-of-coolant
accident transients in an air environment. Two types of tests were performed with: (a) cladding segments
connected to a fixed pressure reservoir as well as (b) closed systems where internal pressure increased
during transients. In-situ thermomechanical measurements including strain and thermal gradient data are
presented, demonstrating the effectiveness of applying combined surface measurement techniques to burst
testing
