Combined Current Profile and Plasma Energy Control via Model Predictive Control in EAST

H. Wang, W.P. Wehner and E. Schuster

26th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation

Zadar, Croatia on June 19-22, 2018

Abstract

Extensive studies have shown that the toroidal current density profile, which is closely related to the poloidal magnetic flux profile, is a key factor to achieving advanced tokamak operating scenarios characterized by improved confinement and possible steady-state operation. In this work, a first-principles-driven, control-oriented model of the poloidal magnetic flux profile evolution is used to design a feedback controller via model predictive control (MPC). The aim of the feedback controller is to track a desired profile for the gradient of the poloidal magnetic flux by solving an optimal control problem in the presence of disturbances, non-modeled dynamics, and arbitrary initial conditions. The simulation results illustrate the capability of the proposed controller in dealing with perturbed initial conditions and disturbances.