A display box depicting the production of a CANDU fuel bundle. Uranium ore is processed to form a complex powder known as yellow cake, or urania. This material is in then chemically processed to produce UO2. The UO2 powder is pressed, heated and finely milled to produce ceramic-like pellets. The pellets, which are 12 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length, are then encased in zirconium alloy fuel rods that have a length of just under 500 mm. The rods have end-caps welded on and are then assembled into a CANDU fuel bundle. There are variations in the sizes of the fuel rods depending on the specific model of CANDU reactor and variations in the number of elements required for a fuel bundle.
The first power-generating Canadian reactor, Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), at Rolphton, ON, used both 7-element and 19-element bundles, while the 37-element bundle depicted in the display is the fuel type used at the Bruce Generating Station at Kincardine, ON. The display stands 32 cm tall and is mounted on a 63 cm by 20 cm wooden base.
