[en] The paper summarizes the main activities carried out in Italy since the 1971 Geneva Conference in light-water reactor fuel design, manufacture, testing and management. In fuel design, much effort has been devoted both to the assimilation of information resulting from the licensing agreement with the United States, suppliers, and to the development of an independent know-how through adequate research and development programmes as well as to fuel behaviour modelling activities. Of these it is worth while mentioning the studies carried out by Comitatio Nazionale per l'Energia Nucleare (CNEN) on the in-pile behaviour of gadolinia fuel rods; the critical heat flux and void fraction experiments; the over-power ramp tests on pre-irradiated fuel rods; the measurements of the pellet-cladding thermal conductance versus burnup; and the investigation on fission-gas release kinetics. The experience acquired with the fuel of the two LWR ENEL power stations, Garigliano BWR and Trino PWR, and some fuel management problems, are reviewed. Mention is made of the effort devoted to acquiring a wider knowledge of fuel behaviour through the post-irradiation examination of power reactor fuel elements, and of experimental rods. Italian fuel manufacturing capabilities are illustrated - the FN (Fabbricazioni Nucleari) plant at Bosco Marengo, which has produced up-to-now a reload for Garigliano BWR and the first core for Caorso BWR; and COREN (Combustibili Reattori Nucleari) at Saluggia, which has fabricated reloads for Trino PWR, including eight UO2-PuO2 fuel bundles; while fuel loading for the Otto Hahn nuclear ship and fuel mechanical components for some PWRs have been made by Fiat. (author)
Source
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria); Proceedings series; v. 2 p. 491-502; ISBN 92-0-050177-X; 
; 1977; v. 2 p. 491-502; IAEA; Vienna; International conference on nuclear power and its fuel cycle; Salzburg, Austria; 2 - 13 May 1977; IAEA-CN--36/310
; 1977; v. 2 p. 491-502; IAEA; Vienna; International conference on nuclear power and its fuel cycle; Salzburg, Austria; 2 - 13 May 1977; IAEA-CN--36/310