Experimental and numerical investigation on thermo-mechanical behavior of fuel rod under simulated LOCA conditions

•A burst criterion for the Zircaloy-4 clad tube at low heating rates (2–8 K/s) developed using fuel simulator.•Cladding temperature, fill pressure and radial deformation were recorded for code validation.•A code was developed using finite difference method and plastic/creep equations.•The predictions by CREEP model were better due to gradual rise in hoop stress until burst.