Summary of theoretical and experiment development of a novelelectromagnetic technique for remote repositioning of coolant tubespaces in CANDU nuclear reactors

The authors describe the experimental and theoretical development of a novel electromagnetic method to reposition the spacers used between the pressure and calandria tubes in a CANDU nuclear reactor without dismantling the fuel channels. The method was successfully developed and implemented to reposition the dislocation spacers in five CANDU reactors in Ontario,. The savings in reactor repair costs, interest charges, and replacement energy costs were on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. There are a number of other applications of the electromagnetic technique which may also benefit from the analysis and experimental development, especially for pulse power, electromagnetic metal forming, and fusion technologies