Modeling of the temperature field and thermal stresses of a fuel element with variable volumetric heat release

\nThe work is devoted to improving the reliability of the fuel element design. The paper considers the thermally stressed state of fuel rods when their geometric shape changes. The main purpose of the article is to determine the temperature field of a fuel element with variable volumetric heat release under a boundary condition of the first kind for determining thermal stresses. It takes into account the coordinate dependence of heat release. The behaviour of the temperature field is also analysed by its cross section. It is established that the temperature difference between the centre of the fuel element and its surface is parabolic in nature. This opens up the possibility of reducing temperature stresses in fuel rods with a coordinate dependence of volumetric heat release.\n