Design of transitions for cylindrical reactor fuel element end caps

End closure design for reactor fuel elements must account for the transition in materials, geometry, and thermal conditions. In this paper, a method of analysis and numerical results are presented which apply to the designing of closures of cylindrical fuel elements. The significance and application to end cap design of the results of a series of parametric studies for bending and shear stresses in transitions having various heights, lengths, shapes, and thickness-to-radius ratios are discussed.