A liquid metal (LM) consisting of 1/3 weight fraction each of Pb, Sn, and Bi has been proposed as the bonding substance in the pellet-cladding gap in place of He. The LM bond eliminates the large AT over the pre-closure gap which is characteristic of helium-bonded fuel elements. Because the LM does not wet either UO2 or Zircaloy, simply loading fuel pellets into a cladding tube containing LM at atmospheric pressure leaves unfilled regions (voids) in the bond. The HEATING 7.3 heat transfer code indicates that these void spaces lead to local fuel hot spots.
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