Author: De Tommasi, G.
Paper Title Page
MODAUIO02
Global Real Time Functions of the "Plasma System": Plasma Control and Machine Protection  
 
  • F. Sartori, M. Cavinato
    F4E, Barcelona, Spain
  • G. De Tommasi
    CREATE, Napoli, Italy
  • A. Neto
    IPFN, Lisbon, Portugal
 
  One of the most promising lines of research in the area of energy generation by means of nuclear fusion is Tokamak high temperature magnetic fusion. Tokamak devices are complex machines where very hot plasma is formed, controlled and heated thanks to collaboration of several systems. Many of these systems are involved directly with the management of the plasma and the reaching of the target fusion performances: diagnostics, machine instrumentation, plasma heating systems, and magnets. Especially close and real-time coordination among these systems and the plasma is required for safe and efficient operation of the device. This overall "plasma system" has recently emerged as one of the most important areas of research and development as performance in a large and advanced tokamak device strongly depends on it. This talk will first provide an introductory overview to the "plasma system" especially highlighting its most important requirements. The focus will then be then given to the functions required to support real time coordination among the systems: plasma control and machine protection. The talk will try to exemplify the range of problems encountered in this area using JET experience as a model. Finally an example of present architecture and a methodology addressing the above problems will be presented.  
slides icon Slides MODAUIO02 [3.887 MB]  
 
MOPMU035 Shape Controller Upgrades for the JET ITER-like Wall 514
 
  • A. Neto, D. Alves, I.S. Carvalho
    IPFN, Lisbon, Portugal
  • G. De Tommasi, F. Maviglia
    CREATE, Napoli, Italy
  • R.C. Felton, P. McCullen
    EFDA-JET, Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom
  • P.J. Lomas, F. G. Rimini, A.V. Stephen, K-D. Zastrow
    CCFE, Culham, Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom
  • R. Vitelli
    Università di Roma II Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
 
  Funding: This work was supported by the European Communities under the contract of Association between EURATOM/IST and was carried out within the framework of the European Fusion Development Agreement.
The upgrade of JET to a new all-metal wall will pose a set of new challenges regarding machine operation and protection. One of the key problems is that the present way of terminating a pulse, upon the detection of a problem, is limited to a predefined set of global responses, tailored to maximise the likelihood of a safe plasma landing. With the new wall, these might conflict with the requirement of avoiding localised heat fluxes in the wall components. As a consequence, the new system will be capable of dynamically adapting its response behaviour, according to the experimental conditions at the time of the stop request and during the termination itself. Also in the context of the new ITER-like wall, two further upgrades were designed to be implemented in the shape controller architecture. The first will allow safer operation of the machine and consists of a power-supply current limit avoidance scheme, which provides a trade-off between the desired plasma shape and the current distribution between the relevant actuators. The second is aimed at an optimised operation of the machine, enabling an earlier formation of a special magnetic configuration where the last plasma closed flux surface is not defined by a physical limiter. The upgraded shape controller system, besides providing the new functionality, is expected to continue to provide the first line of defence against erroneous plasma position and current requests. This paper presents the required architectural changes to the JET plasma shape controller system.
 
poster icon Poster MOPMU035 [2.518 MB]  
 
THDAULT06 MARTe Framework: a Middleware for Real-time Applications Development 1277
 
  • A. Neto, D. Alves, B. Carvalho, P.J. Carvalho, H. Fernandes, D.F. Valcárcel
    IPFN, Lisbon, Portugal
  • A. Barbalace, G. Manduchi
    Consorzio RFX, Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, Padova, Italy
  • L. Boncagni
    ENEA C.R. Frascati, Frascati (Roma), Italy
  • G. De Tommasi
    CREATE, Napoli, Italy
  • P. McCullen, A.V. Stephen
    CCFE, Culham, Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom
  • F. Sartori
    F4E, Barcelona, Spain
  • R. Vitelli
    Università di Roma II Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
  • L. Zabeo
    ITER Organization, St. Paul lez Durance, France
 
  Funding: This work was supported by the European Communities under the contract of Association between EURATOM/IST and was carried out within the framework of the European Fusion Development Agreement
The Multi-threaded Application Real-Time executor (MARTe) is a C++ framework that provides a development environment for the design and deployment of real-time applications, e.g. control systems. The kernel of MARTe comprises a set of data-driven independent blocks, connected using a shared bus. This modular design enforces a clear boundary between algorithms, hardware interaction and system configuration. The architecture, being multi-platform, facilitates the test and commissioning of new systems, enabling the execution of plant models in offline environments and with the hardware-in-the-loop, whilst also providing a set of non-intrusive introspection and logging facilities. Furthermore, applications can be developed in non real-time environments and deployed in a real-time operating system, using exactly the same code and configuration data. The framework is already being used in several fusion experiments, with control cycles ranging from 50 microseconds to 10 milliseconds exhibiting jitters of less than 2%, using VxWorks, RTAI or Linux. Codes can also be developed and executed in Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X. This paper discusses the main design concepts of MARTe, in particular the architectural choices which enabled the combination of real-time accuracy, performance and robustness with complex and modular data driven applications.
 
slides icon Slides THDAULT06 [1.535 MB]