Pellet, fuel

[Rennhack]

As used in pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors, a pellet is a small cylinder approximately 3/8-inch in diameter and 5/8-inch in length, consisting of uranium fuel in a ceramic form--uranium dioxide, UO2. Typical fuel pellet enrichments in nuclear power reactors range from 2.0 percent to 3.5 percent uranium-235.