This course discusses the state-of-the-art techniques to control or suppress magnetic instabilities in fusion plasmas.
Contents
The stability and performance of tokamak plasmas is limited by instabilities such as (neoclassical) tearing modes (NTM). Tools and techniques to suppress and/or stabilize tearing modes are recognized as a necessity to guarantee the viability of a future energy plant. Successful NTM control requires a tight integration of physics, (power) electronics, mechanics and control.
In this course the following subjects are treated:
- Definition of the control problem. Identification of problems with sensing, modeling and actuation
- Plasma confinement modes and operational limits (L-mode and H-mode)
- Actuators and sensors for NTM control (ECRH, ECE)
- The dynamics and the control of magnetic islands
- Sawteeth dynamics and sawteeth control
- Burn control
- Gyrotron and launcher control
- Modeling and integration