DIII-D Integrated plasma control solutions for ITER and next-generation tokamaks

Abstract

Plasma control design approaches and solutions developed at DIII-D to address its control-intensive advanced tokamak (AT) mission are applicable to many problems facing ITER and other next-generation devices. A systematic approach to algorithm design, termed “integrated plasma control,” enables new tokamak controllers to be applied operationally with minimal machine time required for tuning. Such high confidence plasma control algorithms are designed using relatively simple (“control-level”) models validated against experimental response data and are verified in simulation prior to operational use. A key element of DIII-D integrated plasma control, also required in the ITER baseline control approach, is the ability to verify both controller performance and implementation by running simulations that connect directly to the actual plasma control system (PCS) that is used to operate the tokamak itself. The DIII-D PCS comprises a powerful and flexible C-based realtime code and programming infrastructure, as well as an arbitrarily scalable hardware and realtime network architecture. This software infrastructure provides a general platform for implementation and verification of realtime algorithms with arbitrary complexity, limited only by speed of execution requirements. We present a complete suite of tools (known collectively as TokSys) supporting the integrated plasma control design process, along with recent examples of control algorithms designed for the DIII-D PCS. The use of validated physics-based models and a systematic model-based design and verification process enables these control solutions to be directly applied to ITER and other next-generation tokamaks.