Studies of Fusion Burn Control

Findings from a general study of issues associated with operation control of burning fusion plasmas are reported, and applications to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are given. A number of control variables are discussed. A zero-dimensional system has been developed, and stability against coupled temperature and density variations is studied. Space-dependent energy balance and transition to thermonuclear burn are analyzed as are maximum obtainable Q values under subignited operation conditions. Control designs with different input-output strategies are analyzed and numerically simulated, and a numerical experiment on system identification is performed. Requirements on diagnostics are discussed, and areas for further study are identified.