Nonlinear Burn Control in Tokamak Fusion Reactors via Output Feedback
M.D. Boyer and E. Schuster
19th IFAC World Congress
Cape Town, South Africa, August 24-29, 2014
Abstract
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The next experimental step in the development of nuclear fusion
reactors is the ITER tokamak. It is designed to explore the burning
plasma regime in which the plasma temperature is sustained mostly by
self-heating from fusion reactions. Burn control, the control of
fusion power and other reactor parameters through modulation of
fueling and heating, will be essential for achieving and maintaining
desired operating points and ensuring stability. Design of burn
control strategies is made challenging by the multi-variable, highly
nonlinear, uncertain nature of the system. Furthermore, due to the
extreme conditions in fusion reactors, diagnostic systems may be
limited. To deal with these challenges, we propose the use of a
nonlinear, multi-variable output feedback control strategy with a
proportional-integral observer. A simulation study is carried out to
illustrate the performance of the scheme using a set of diagnostics
likely to be available in ITER.