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plasma

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MOPB01 Grid and Component Technologies in Physics Applications simulation 29
 
  • S. Muszala, R. Pundaleeka, N. Wang, S. G. Shasharina
    Tech-X, Boulder, Colorado
  Physics experiments and simulations grow in size and complexity. Examples are the existing HEP/NP experiments and upcoming challenges of SNS, LHC, ILC, and ITER. Managing the experimental data is an extremely complex activity. Physics simulations now attempt full modeling of various phenomena and whole experimental devices, such as in fusion integrated and space weather modeling. Recent advances in computer science, such as Grids and Components, address the challenges faced by applications. In science, Globus and Common Component Architecture (CCA) became commonly used tools for these technologies. Globus allows creating a grid–computers trusting each other and a group of users who can then submit jobs and move data. CCA expresses connectivity of the simulations elements in different languages as “components,” objects with in and out “ports.” CCA “frameworks” combine components into simulation and can swap components sharing ports. CCA accommodates high-performance and distributed applications. We will present our work with Globus and CCA in HEP/NP and fusion, share the lessons learned, and evaluate the ease of using these technologies and the value added.  
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TOPA01 Data Management at JET with a Look Forward to ITER controls, diagnostics, simulation, power-supply 74
 
  • A. J. Capel, N. J. Cook, A. M. Edwards, E. M. Jones, R. A. Layne, D. C. McDonald, M. W. Wheatley, J. W. Farthing
    UKAEA Culham, Culham, Abingdon, Oxon
  • M. Greenwald
    MIT/PSFC, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • J. B. Lister
    ITER, St Paul lez Durance
  Since the first JET pulse in 1983, the raw data collected per ~40s of plasma discharge (pulse) has roughly followed a Moore's Law-like doubling every 2 years. Today we collect up to ~10GB per pulse, and the total data collected over ~70,000 pulses amounts to ~35TB. Enhancements to JET should result in ~60GB per pulse being collected by 2010. An ongoing challenge is to maintain the pulse repetition rate, data access times, and data security. The mass data store provides storage, archiving, and also the data access methods. JET, like most fusion experiments, provides an MDSplus (http://www.mdsplus.org) access layer on top of its own client-server access. Although ITER will also be a pulsed experiment, the discharge will be ~300-5000s in duration. Data storage and analysis must hence be performed exclusively in real time. The ITER conceptual design proposes a continuous timeline for access to all project data. The JET mass data store will be described together with the planned upgrades required to cater for the increases in data at the end of 2009. The functional requirements for the ITER mass storage system will be described based on the current status of the ITER conceptual design.  
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TPPA21 MDSplus Real-Time Data Access in RTAI controls, feedback, target, background 132
 
  • A. Barbalace, A. Luchetta, C. Taliercio, G. Manduchi
    Consorzio RFX, Euratom ENEA Association, Padova
  • T. W. Fredian
    MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • J. A. Stillerman
    MIT/PSFC, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  The MDSplus package is widely used in Nuclear Fusion research for data acquisition and management. Recent extensions of the system provide useful features for real-time applications, such as the possibility of locking selected data items in memory and real-time notification. The real-time extensions of MDSplus have been implemented as a set of C++ classes and can be easily ported to any target architecture by developing a few adapter classes. The real-time data access layer of MDSplus is currently available for Windows, Linux, VxWorks and RTAI. In particular, the RTAI platform is very promising in this context because it allows the co-existence of offline, non-real-time tasks with real-time ones. It is hence possible to devise an architecture where real-time functionality is handled by a few selected tasks using the real-time data access layer of MDSplus, whereas background, non-real-time activity is carried out by “traditional” Linux tasks. This organization may be of interest for the next generation of fusion devices with long-duration discharges, during which the system has to provide feedback control in real time and to sustain continuous data acquisition and storage.  
 
TOPB02 Improvement of Tore Supra Real Time Processing Capability Using Remote PCs diagnostics, controls, electron, cyclotron 262
 
  • B. Guillerminet, F. Leroux, D. Molina, N. Ravenel, P. H. Moreau
    EURATOM-CEA, St Paul Lez Durance
  The Tore Supra tokamak is the largest superconducting magnetic fusion facility. Its real time measurements and control system is designed to deal with continuous acquisition during the plasma discharge, fast acquisition (sampling frequency up to 4 GHz) and Real Time (RT) data processing. The simultaneous control of an increasing number of plasma parameters aiming at tokamak operations in a fully steady state regime makes fast acquisitions and RT data processing more and more de-manding. The Tore Supra Data Acquisition System (DAS) is based mainly on VME bus acquisition units using Lynx OS 3.1 as operating system. Some units are not able any more to handle in parallel the data flow rate (about 100ko/s increasing up to 6Mo/s during fast acquisition phase) and the RT processing. Furthermore, the time delay between two fast acquisition phases must be reduced to be able to catch fast plasma events. To cope with these needs, the data processing capability has been enhanced while preserving the existing acquisition system. A new DAS layer containing Linux-PC has been implemented. The link between the Lynx-OS layer and the Linux layer is ensured by a 100-Mbps Ethernet link.  
 
WPPA22 Real-Time Measurement and Control at JET – Status 2007 controls, diagnostics, neutral-beams, electron 362
 
  • T. Budd, F. Sartori, R. C. Felton
    EFDA-JET, Abingdon, Oxon
  The Joint European Tokamak (JET) is a large machine for experiments on fusion plasmas. Many of the experiments use real-time measurements and controls to establish and/or maintain specific plasma conditions. Each Instrument (Diagnostic or Heating/Fueling/Magnet) is connected to a network. The number of systems has now grown to over thirty, and new systems are being planned for the future. Since some of the systems are used to control critical parameters of the JET plasma, we are improving the availability, reliability, and maintainability of the facility. We must ensure that systems check their message structures against a central Data Dictionary at build-time and run-time and secondly that the systems check their input data streams are alive before, during, and after a JET pulse. Thirdly, a test data generator facility is being added so that systems can be validated in situ. Finally, we are developing high-level control configuration tools. From all of these, we identify some general principles that are applicable to the next-generation machines.  
 
WPPB07 Machine Protection and Advanced Plasma Control in TORE SUPRA Tokamak controls, electron, injection, diagnostics 412
 
  • S. P. Bremond, J. Bucalossi, G. Martin, P. H. Moreau, F. Saint-Laurent
    EURATOM-CEA, St Paul Lez Durance
  A tokamak is a complex device combining many sub-systems. All of them must have high reliability and robustness to operate together. A sub-system includes its own safety protections and a more integrated level of protection to ensure the safety of the full device. Moreover, plasma operation with several megawatts of additional injected power requires a highly reliable and performing control because uncontrolled plasma displacements and off-normal events could seriously damage the in-vessel components. Such an integrated control system is installed on Tore Supra. It can develop an alternative plasma operation strategy when margins to technological sub-system limits become too small. The control switches to more and more degraded modes, from the nominal one to a fast plasma shutdown. When sub-system limits are nearly reached, the system tries to balance the loads over less solicited parts. Then a modification of the plasma parameters is performed to preserve the plasma discharge in a degraded mode. The third step is a soft and controlled plasma shutdown, including a stopping of additional heating systems. When loads are closed to be uncontrolled, a fast plasma shutdown is initiated.  
 
WPPB28 Remote Operation of Large-Scale Fusion Experiments controls, site, diagnostics, monitoring 454
 
  • G. Abla, D. P. Schissel
    GA, San Diego, California
  • T. W. Fredian
    MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • M. Greenwald, J. A. Stillerman
    MIT/PSFC, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  This paper examines the past, present, and future remote operation of large-scale fusion experiments by large, geographically dispersed teams. The fusion community has considerable experience placing remote collaboration tools in the hands of real users. Tools to remotely view operations and control selected instrumentation and analysis tasks were in use as early as 1992 and full remote operation of an entire tokamak experiment was demonstrated in 1996. Today’s experiments invariable involve a mix of local and remote researchers, with sessions routinely led from remote institutions. Currently, the National Fusion Collaboratory Project has created a FusionGrid for secure remote computations and has placed collaborative tools into operating control rooms. Looking toward the future, ITER will be the next major step in the international program. Fusion experiments put a premium on near real-time interactions with data and among members of the team and though ITER will generate more data than current experiments, the greatest challenge will be the provisioning of systems for analyzing, visualizing and assimilating data to support distributed decision making during ITER operation.  
 
ROAA01 Status of the ITER CODAC Conceptual Design controls, site, monitoring, factory 481
 
  • J. W. Farthing
    UKAEA Culham, Culham, Abingdon, Oxon
  • M. Greenwald
    MIT/PSFC, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • I. Yonekawa
    JAEA/NAKA, Ibaraki-ken
  • J. B. Lister
    ITER, St Paul lez Durance
  Since the last ICALEPCS conference, a number of issues have been studied in the conceptual design of the ITER Control, Data Access, and Communication Systems. Almost all of the technical challenges have seen workable approaches selected. The conceptual design will be reviewed in 2007, before starting the preliminary engineering design. One software component that does not have a clear solution is the execution of data-driven schedules to operate the installation at multiple levels, from daily program management to plasma feedback control. Recent developments in workflow products might be useful. The present conceptual weakness is not having found a satisfactory "universal" description of the I&C design process for the "self-description" of the 100 procured Plant Systems. A vital CODAC design feature is to operate the full plant on the basis of imported “self-description” data, which necessarily includes the process description in each Plant System. The targeted formal link between 3-D design, process design, and process control has not yet been created. Some of the strawman designs meeting the technical requirements will be mentioned in detail.  
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