Control Processes and Machine Protection on ASDEX Upgrade

ASDEX Upgrade's new real-time discharge control system connects to all coils, heating and fuelling actuators, to protection systems, and to a large number of real-time diagnostics. It evaluates and monitors many physics quantities and provides an overall plant and plasma state, to execute coordinated feedback processes, and operate actuators with advanced strategies in high performance plasma scenarios. The control system can react to specific plasma and plant states with new control goals, expressed through alternate sets of discharge schedule references, or through new references computed in real-time. The method provides extreme flexibility to respond with context-specific control strategies to optimize plasma performance, reduce the criticality of a discharge or minimize machine stress. This ability gives the control system a key role in ASDEX Upgrade's three-layer protection hierarchy, where the most flexible protection level is fully computer-based. We will sketch the control process model's features to support safety critical applications, such as self-monitoring, automatic alarm propagation and watchdog monitoring, give an overview of the plant and plasma monitor processes, show how these are mapped to the protection layers of ASDEX Upgrade, and explain the control system's activities within these. (author)