Report on damaged FLIP TRIGA fuel

Damaged FLIP elements were discovered, positioned adjacent to the transient rod. It then became apparent that this was not the failure of a defective, element but a heretofore unknown operating or design problem. The damaged elements are described as having bulges in the cladding and unevenly spaced dark rings along the fuelled portion of the element. Possible causes are investigated, including: defective fuel elements, incorrectly calculated power distributions in the core and in the elements, water leakage into the void follower of the transient rod, and improper safety limit for FLIP fuel. Based on measurements and calculations that have been experimentally verified it is concluded that the safety limit was not exceeded or even closely approached. It is also concluded that the problem is due entirely due to some phenomena occurring during pulsing, and that the steady state history of the fuel is not a factor.