A collection of five zircaloy fuel element sheaths of the type used in CANDU fuel bundles. Four of the sheaths have an outside diameter of 15.2 mm, the size used in the Pickering A reactors, while the fifth has an outside diameter of 13.1 mm and is the size used in the Bruce A reactors. One of the four Pickering size sheaths has been completed with end caps, bearing pads and element spacers. (It also has had a “filler” added to simulate the weight of the uranium fuel pellets.) The completed fuel element measures 495 mm in length. It has three zircaloy bearing pads welded to the sheath, one in the middle and two centered 50 mm from each end of the element. The pads are about 30 mm in length. At the middle of the element, in addition to the bearing pad, three shorter (~9 mm) zircaloy spacer pads, placed 90 degrees apart, are located around the circumference of the element. They are shorter than the bearing pads and are welded at an angle of about 30 degrees relative to the element axis. The spacer pads maintain the proper spacing to the adjacent elements. In the Pickering A reactors, 28 of these elements are used to form a fuel bundle and 12 bundles are used in each of the 390 fuel channels.
