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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Marc A. Firestone, Jonathan W. Morrow-Jones, Tak Kuen Mau
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 32 | Number 3 | November 1997 | Pages 390-403
Technical Paper | Plasma Control Issues for Tokamaks | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A3
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Results for the first simulated comprehensive feedback control study for a tokamak operating in the fusion regime are presented. A standard Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX) design is the simulated reactor, but the results apply to any tokamak. Feedback gains are derived for specific classes of dynamic models and control objectives using model-based optimal control. An integrated control approach treats both kinetic and electromagnetic parameters and radial profiles. The control actuators include poloidal field coils, fast-wave and lower-hybrid current drive and heating sources, and pellet fuel injectors. Results show that the strongly coupled plasma parameters provide unintended secondary responses to controller inputs. In particular, attempts to modify the q-profile greatly affect the temperature and density profiles when the transport model incorporates International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) scaling. The hot, highly conductive plasma and poor source penetration in the nominal BPX discharge make the central q-values difficult to regulate. Fusion events also complicate the control efforts. Further, simple plasma circuit models are inadequate to account for a significantly evolving current profile. Proper understanding and use of integrated, model-based feedback control will avoid these pitfalls.