An examination of residual stresses and strains has been carried out experimentally on structural graphite components removed from Peach Bottom High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) fuel elements. The purpose of this work is to confirm predicted stress distributions. Twenty-nine teledial fuel elements (of six- and eight-hole design) were irradiated in the Peach Bottom HTGR to fluences of less than or equal to 4 x 10/sup 25/ n/m/sup 2/ (E greater than 29 fJ) and time-average temperatures up to 1100/sup 0/C. The irradiation history was modeled with HTGR design codes. Performance predictions were verified by in-pile thermocouples and fuel burnup measurements. The predicted irradiation-induced strains were found to be in quantitative agreement with postirradiation measurements (less than or equal to 0.5 percent shrinkage over a 70-mm diameter). As a result of the temperature distribution in the teledial bodies, compressive stresses were predicted at the periphery and tensile stresses in the inner zones. A total of 19 graphite bodies from 8 different fuel elements were examined destructively for structural integrity and residual stresses.