Results of Severe Fuel Damage Experiment QUENCH-15 with ZIRLO cladding tubes

The QUENCH-15 experiment investigated the effect of ZIRLO™ cladding material on bundle oxidation and core reflood from maximum bundle temperature of 2150 K. The molten cladding metal at the hottest elevation was localized between outer and inner oxide layers. The analyses of the QUENCH-15 test data indicate a similar global bundle behavior as of bundle experiments QUENCH-14 (M5® claddings) and QUENCH-06 (Zircaloy-4 claddings).