Nonlinear control and online optimization of the burn condition in ITER via heating, isotopic fueling and impurity injection

The ITER tokamak, the next experimental step toward the development of nuclear fusion reactors, will explore the burning plasma regime in which the plasma temperature is sustained mostly by fusion heating. Regulation of the fusion power through modulation of fueling and external heating sources, referred to as burn control, is one of the fundamental problems in burning plasma research. Active control will be essential for achieving and maintaining desired operating points, responding to changing power demands, and ensuring stable operation. Most existing burn control efforts use either non-model-based control techniques or designs based on linearized models. These approaches must be designed for particular operating points and break down for large perturbations. In this work, we utilize a spatially averaged (zero-dimensional) nonlinear model to synthesize a multi-variable nonlinear burn control strategy that can reject large perturbations and move between operating points. The controller uses all of the available actuation techniques in tandem to ensure good performance, even if one or more of the actuators saturate. Adaptive parameter estimation is used to improve the model parameter estimates used by the feedback controller in real-time and ensure asymptotic tracking of the desired operating point. In addition, we propose the use of a model-based online optimization algorithm to drive the system to a state that minimizes a given cost function, while respecting input and state constraints. A zero-dimensional simulation study is presented to show the performance of the adaptive control scheme and the optimization scheme with a cost function weighting the fusion power and temperature tracking errors.