Physics-based Control-oriented Modeling of the Safety Factor Profile Dynamics in High Performance Tokamak Plasmas
J.E. Barton, W. Shi, K. Besseghir, J. Lister, A. Kritz, E. Schuster, T.C. Luce, M.L. Walker, D.A. Humphreys and J.R. Ferron
52nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control
Florence, Italy, December 10-13, 2013
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Abstract
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The tokamak is a device that utilizes magnetic fields to confine a
reactant gas to generate energy from nuclear fusion reactions. The
next step towards the realization of a tokamak power plant is the ITER
project, and extensive research has been conducted to find high
performance operating scenarios characterized by a high fusion gain
and plasma stability. A key property related to both the stability and
performance of the plasma is the safety factor profile (q-profile). In
this work, a general control-oriented physics-based modeling approach
is developed, with emphasis on high performance scenarios, to convert
the first-principles physics model that describes the q-profile
evolution in the tokamak into a form suitable for control design, with
the goal of developing closed-loop controllers to drive the q-profile
to a desired target evolution. The DINA-CH&CRONOS and PTRANSP advanced
tokamak simulation codes are used to tailor the first-principles-driven
(FPD) model to the ITER and DIII-D tokamak geometries, respectively.
The model's prediction capabilities are illustrated by comparing the
prediction to simulated data from DINA-CH&CRONOS for ITER and to
experimental data for DIII-D.
