Integrated plasma controls for steady state scenarios

In recent campaigns, Tore Supra has focused its efforts on the physics optimisation and operation of stationary scenarios with high input power (up to 8 MW), duration of more than 60 s and vanishing loop voltage (up to 80% of non-inductive current). For physics integration, Tore Supra has been equipped with a large number of new real time sensors. The control of the lower hybrid (LH) wave deposition profile width measured by the hard x-ray camera has been achieved with the parallel refractive index nparallel varying from 1.7 to 2.3 and the LH-wave power using different types of control techniques. In addition, the control of the current profile with the parallel refractive index of the LH-launched spectrum has also been combined with loop voltage control using the central solenoid voltage as actuator. The effect of electron cyclotron heating as an actuator has been examined for control of temperature bifurcation phenomena such as internal transport barrier. On the basis of the experimental power flux analyses, the seven infrared cameras monitoring the five antennas and the toroidal pumped limiter have been used for implementing new power load limit avoidance control schemes which have been successfully combined with the LH-deposition profile and loop voltage control