DOCSLIB.ORG

Development of Smart, Compact Fusion Diagnostics Using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Development of Smart, Compact Fusion Diagnostics Using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays Development of Smart, Compact Fusion Diagnostics using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays Jack Lovell A Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Advanced Instrumentation Department of Physics Durham University United Kingdom November 2017 Development of Smart, Compact Fusion Diagnostics using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays Jack Lovell Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2017 Abstract: Fusion research requires high quality diagnostics to understand the complex physical processes involved. Traditional analogue systems are complex, large and expensive, and expansion of diagnostic capabilities is often impossible without building a completely new system at considerable expense. Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology can provide a solution to this problem. By implementing complex functionality and digital signal processing on an FPGA chip, diagnostic hardware can be greatly simplified and compacted. In this thesis we describe the enhancements of two diagnostics for the MAST-Upgrade tokamak using FPGA technology. Firstly, the design of the back end electronics for the new divertor bolometer is described. Results of tests of the new electronics at a number of sites, including lab-based testing and tokamak installations, are also presented. We demonstrate the correct functionality of the electronics and illustrate a number of important effects which must be taken into account when interpreting bolometer data on MAST-U. Secondly, we describe the new control and acquisition electronics developed for the MAST-U divertor Langmuir probe diagnostic. Much of the analogue control circuitry of the previous system has been upgraded to a digital implementation on an FPGA, which results in a significantly more compact and cost effective design. Given that MAST-Upgrade will feature around 850 Langmuir probes, these improvements are extremely important to keep the diagnostic manageable. Again, results are presented from the testing of the system at several sites, which both demonstrate the correct functionality of the new system and provide information on the diagnostic behaviour which needs to be accounted for when interpreting the probe data during MAST-U experiments. Declaration The work in this thesis is based on research carried out at the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation in the Department of Physics at Durham University. No part of this thesis has been submitted elsewhere for any degree or qualification. The original design and specification of the BOLO8 hardware, and a conceptual outline of the new calibration procedure, were already in place before I started this work. Similarly, the design and specification of the Langmuir probe electronics described herein had already began before I started this work. The refinement and implementation of these specifications is however my own work. Collaborations with other researchers and institutions have been indicated at appro- priate points in the text. Copyright © 2017 Jack Lovell. “The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author’s prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged.” Acknowledgements The production of this thesis has relied on a large number of people. Thanks are of course due to my supervisors Ray Sharples of Durham University and Graham Naylor of Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) for their help and advice throughout the project, including the many hours of proof reading and suggestions for improvement of the thesis text itself. Anthony Field, Peter Drewelow and Mike Stamp provided assistance with the bolometer development at CCFE and JET, whilst Matt Reinke has proved to be an invaluable contact first at York University and then Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory on behalf of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to enable collaborations with these institutions. Robert Stephen, Stuart Bray, Sarah Elmore and James Harrison have provided assistance with the Langmuir Probe system at CCFE, with Hannah Willett and Kieron Gibson of York University and Matej Peterka, Aleš Hávranek, Megi Dimitrova and Jirka Adámek of IPP CAS providing assistance with tests of the system at the York Linear Plasma Device and the COMPASS tokamak respectively. Much of the data processing and plotting in the results chapters uses Python [1], together with the Scipy [2], Matplotlib [3] and xarray [4] libraries. Many diagrams are also drawn using the PGF/TikZ LATEX package [5] and the Inkscape graphics editor [6]. Thanks are due to M Imran and J Lawson who prepared the LATEX template which this thesis uses. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, grants EP/L01663X/1 and EP/P012450/1. Parts of this work have been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and have received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. Parts of this work are supported by Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports project LM2015045. Parts of this work are supported by US Department of Energy grants DE-AC05-00OR22725 and DE-AC02-09CH11466. Dedicated to The strong force, without which all this would be futile. Contents Abstract iii List of Figures xv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Nuclear Fusion . .1 1.1.1 Physical process . .2 1.1.2 An ideal energy source? . .5 1.2 Plasma confinement . .7 1.3 The tokamak . .8 1.3.1 Tokamak principle . .8 1.3.2 Tokamak Diagnostics . 12 1.3.3 The divertor . 14 1.4 MAST-Upgrade . 15 1.4.1 Spherical tokamaks . 17 1.4.2 The Super-X divertor . 18 1.5 Field-programmable gate arrays . 20 1.5.1 The principle of FPGAs . 20 1.5.2 Xillybus . 24 1.6 FPGAs and fusion diagnostics . 24 xii Contents 2 Design of the Bolometer diagnostic 27 2.1 The bolometer principle . 27 2.1.1 Resistive bolometers . 28 2.1.2 AC synchronous detection . 30 2.1.3 Calculation of absorbed power . 31 2.1.4 Calibration . 32 2.2 Hardware . 34 2.2.1 New calibration procedure . 39 2.3 FPGA design: Xillybus version . 41 2.3.1 Digital Signal Processing . 47 2.3.2 Jetblack software interface . 51 2.4 FPGA redesign: BOLODSP module . 53 2.5 Improvements over previous systems . 56 3 Results from the Bolometer system 59 3.1 Lab-based measurements at the York Plasma Institute . 59 3.1.1 Comparison of FPGA and software signal processing . 60 3.1.2 Calibration dependence on bias voltage . 63 3.1.3 Calibration dependence on pressure . 65 3.1.4 Summary of York tests . 67 3.2 Installation on JET . 68 3.2.1 Direct voltage comparison . 70 3.2.2 Optimisation of drive frequency . 72 3.2.3 Power calculation . 74 3.2.4 Tomography comparison . 80 3.2.5 Total power calculation . 83 3.2.6 Summary of JET tests . 86 3.3 Installation on TCV . 86 3.4 Lab-based measurements at PPPL . 88 3.4.1 Laser profile . 88 Contents xiii 3.4.2 Sensitivity calculation: manual calibration method . 91 3.4.3 Sensitivity calculation: BOLO8 calibration method . 92 3.4.4 Absolute power accuracy . 93 3.4.5 Laser power scan . 95 3.4.6 Laser frequency scan . 97 3.4.7 Cable length scan . 104 3.4.8 Drive frequency scan . 106 3.4.9 Summary of PPPL tests . 113 3.5 Implications for installation on MAST-Upgrade . 114 4 The Langmuir Probe diagnostic 115 4.1 Principles . 115 4.1.1 The IV characteristic . 116 4.1.2 MAST-U’s divertor Langmuir probes . 118 4.2 Hardware . 119 4.2.1 The multiplexer . 121 4.3 FPGA design . 123 4.3.1 Web server with CherryPy . 126 4.4 Improvements over previous system . 127 5 Results from the Langmuir Probe system 129 5.1 Installation on the York Linear Plasma Device . 129 5.1.1 Floating potential measurements . 131 5.1.2 Sweep measurements . 133 5.1.3 Plasma parameters from sweeps . 137 5.1.4 Summary of YLPD tests . 139 5.2 Installation on the COMPASS tokamak . 139 5.2.1 Experimental setup . 140 5.2.2 Floating potential measurements . 141 5.2.3 Sweep waveform . 146 5.2.4 Sweep measurements . 149 5.2.5 Summary of the COMPASS tests . 151 5.3 Implications for installation on MAST-U . 152 xiv Contents 6 Conclusions 155 6.1 Summary . 155 6.2 Future work . 158 6.3 Final word: the potential of integrated FPGA diagnostics in fusion . 160 Bibliography 163 List of Figures 1.1 Average binding energy per nucleon for a range of nuclei . .3 1.2 The cross sections for the 3 most relevant terrestrial nuclear fusion reactions . .4 1.3 The principle of the magnetic mirror . .9 1.4 The magnetic field configuration in a tokamak . 11 1.5 The magnetic flux surfaces in a divertor configuration for the JET tokamak. 16 1.6 Comparison of conventional and Super-X divertor configurations in MAST-U. 19 1.7 FPGA architecture . 21 1.8 Schematic of the Zynq architecture . 23 2.1 Schematic of the bolometer circuit . 29 2.2 Schematic of circuit typically used to calibrate bolometers . 32 2.3 The BOLO8 and ACQ2006 hardware . 36 2.4 Diagram showing the interaction between components of the bolo- meter system . 37 2.5 Schematic of the BOLO8 module . 38 2.6 Comparison of the spectra of raw ADC voltage measurements, with and without the Schottky diodes . 38 2.7 Electrical setup of the BOLO8 calibration procedure . 40 2.8 Schematic showing the modular design of the FPGA firmware . 44 2.9 Flow diagram showing how the AC synchronous detection is performed on the FPGA . 47 2.10 The user-programmable DSP interface . 54 xvi List of Figures 3.1 Comparison of floating-point and fixed-point signal processing for a calibration shot .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Validation of Equilibrium Tools on the COMPASS Tokamak Jakub Urban, L
    Validation of equilibrium tools on the COMPASS tokamak Jakub Urban, L. C. Appel, J. F. Artaud, Blaise Faugeras, Josef Havlicek, Michael Komm, Ivan Lupelli, Matěj Peterka To cite this version: Jakub Urban, L. C. Appel, J. F. Artaud, Blaise Faugeras, Josef Havlicek, et al.. Validation of equi- librium tools on the COMPASS tokamak. SOFT 2014, 2014, San Sebastian, Spain. hal-01105044 HAL Id: hal-01105044 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01105044 Submitted on 9 Oct 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Validation of equilibrium tools on the COMPASS tokamak J. Urbana, L.C. Appelb, J.F. Artaudc, B. Faugerasd, J. Havliceka,e, M. Komma, I. Lupellib, M. Peterkaa,e aInstitute of Plasma Physics ASCR, Za Slovankou 3, 182 00 Praha 8, Czech Republic bCCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK cCEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance, France dLaboratoire J.A. Dieudonn´e,UMR 7351, Universit´ede Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 02, France eDepartment of Surface and Plasma Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, V Holeˇsoviˇck´ach 2, 180 00 Praha 8, Czech Republic Abstract Various MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) equilibrium tools, some of which being recently developed or considerably updated, are used on the COMPASS tokamak at IPP Prague.
    [Show full text]
  • Visible Light Measurements on the COMPASS Tokamak
    Visible light measurements on the COMPASS tokamak by Olivier Van Hoey Faculty of Engineering Department of Applied Physics Head of the department: Prof. Dr. Ir. C. Leys Visible light measurements on the COMPASS tokamak by Olivier Van Hoey Promoter: Prof. Dr. Ir. G. Van Oost Copromoter: D. Naydenkova The research reported in this thesis was performed at the Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Za Slovankou 1782/3, 182 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic Thesis submitted in order to obtain the degree of Master of Physics and Astronomy, option: Research Academic year 2009-2010 The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!', but 'That's funny...' - Isaac Asimov. Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world - Archimedes Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood - Marie Curie No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong - Albert Einstein The science of today is the technology of tomorrow - Edward Teller Allowance to loan The author gives permission to make this thesis available for consultation and to copy parts of the thesis for personal use. Any other use is limited by the restrictions of copy- right, in particular with regard to the obligation to mention the source explicitly when citing results from this thesis. Olivier Van Hoey May 20, 2010 i Acknowledgment The achievement of this thesis was not possible without the help and support of a lot of people.
    [Show full text]
  • Provisional Programme
    Provisional Programme MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Chair Persons Chair Persons Chair Persons Chair Persons 09:00 OPENING B. Gonçalves, D. Batani TUTORIAL T2 F. Wang, J. Santos TUTORIAL T3 M. Simek, R. Luis TUTORIAL T4 C. Silva, G. Zeraouli 09:15 09:30 TUTORIAL T1 A. Tuccillo, A. Romano 09:45 INVITED I2.1 INVITED I3.1 INVITED I4.1 10:00 10:15 ORAL O1.1 ORAL O2.1 ORAL O3.1 ORAL O4.1 10:30 COFFEE POSTER 1 COFFEE POSTER 2 COFFEE POSTER 3 COFFEE 10:45 11:00 ORAL O4.2 C. Silva, G. Zeraouli 11:15 ORAL O4.3 11:30 ORAL O4.4 11:45 ORAL O4.5 12:00 INVITED I1.1 A. Tuccillo, A. Romano INVITED I2.2 F. Wang, J. Santos INVITED I3.2 M. Simek, R. Luis INVITED I4.2 12:15 12:30 ORAL O1.2 INVITED I2.3 ORAL O3.2 INVITED I4.3 12:45 ORAL O1.3 ORAL O3.3 13:00 LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH 13:15 13:30 13:45 14:00 14:15 14:30 14:45 INVITED I1.2 M. Fajardo, D. Mancelli FAENOV SESSION D. Batani, S. Malko INVITED I3.3 M. Feroci, P. Varela INVITED I4.4 L.L. Alves, L. Guimarãis 15:00 INTRO+ 2 TALKS 15:15 ORAL O1.4 F1-F2 ORAL O3.4 ORAL O4.6 15:30 COFFEE POSTER 1 COFFEE POSTER 2 COFFEE POSTER 3 COFFEE 15:45 16:00 ORAL O4.7 L.L. Alves, L. Guimarãis 16:15 INVITED I4.5 16:30 16:45 ORAL O1.5 M.
    [Show full text]
  • 2Nd IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Data Processing, Validation and Analysis
    nd 2 IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Data Processing, Validation and Analysis Programme Book of Abstracts Boston, USA 30 May – 2 June, 2017 DISCLAIMER: This is not an official IAEA publication. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the International Atomic Energy Agency or its Member States. The material has not undergone an official review by the IAEA. This document should not be quoted or listed as a reference. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. Second Joint ITER-IAEA Technical Meeting Analysis of ITER Materials and Technologies 11-13 December 2012 The Gateway Hotel Ummed Ahmedabad Ahmedabad, India 2nd IAEA Technical Meeting on Fusion Data Processing, Validation and Analysis 30 May – 2 June, 2017 Boston, USA IAEA Scientific Secretary International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre Wagramer Straße 5, PO Box 100 Ms. Sehila Maria Gonzalez de Vicente A-1400 Vienna, Austria NAPC Physics Section Tel: +43-1-2600-21753 Fax: +43-1-26007 E-mail: [email protected] International Programme Advisory Committee Chair: N. Howard (USA) A. Dinklage (Germany), R. Fischer (Germany), S. Kajita (Japan), S. Kaye (USA), D. Mazon (France), D. McDonald (Eurofusion/EU), A.
    [Show full text]
  • Losses of Runaway Electrons in MHD-Active Plasmas of the COMPASS Tokamak
    Losses of runaway electrons in MHD-active plasmas of the COMPASS tokamak O Ficker1;2, J Mlynar1, M Vlainic1;2;3, J Cerovsky1;2, J Urban1, P Vondracek1;4, V Weinzettl1, E Macusova1, J Decker5,M Gospodarczyk5, P Martin7, E Nardon8, G Papp9,VV Plyusnin10, C Reux8, F Saint-Laurent8, C Sommariva8,J Cavalier1;11, J Havlicek1, A Havranek1;12, O Hronova1,M Imrisek1, T Markovic1;4, J Varju1, R Paprok1;4, R Panek1,M Hron1 and the COMPASS team 1 Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, CZ-18200 Praha 8, Czech Republic 2 FNSPE, Czech Technical University in Prague, CZ-11519 Praha 1, Czech Republic 3 Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium 4 FMP, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 3, CZ-12116 Praha 2, Czech Republic 5 Swiss Plasma Centre, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 6 Universita’ di Roma Tor Vergata, 00133 Roma, Italy 7 Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy 8 CEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France 9 Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching D-85748, Germany 10 Centro de Fusao Nuclear, IST, Lisbon, Portugal 11 Institut Jean Lamour IJL, Universite de Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, France 12 FEE, Czech Technical University in Prague, CZ-12000 Praha 2, Czech Republic E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Significant role of magnetic perturbations in mitigation and losses of Runaway Electrons (REs) was documented in dedicated experimental studies of RE at the COMPASS tokamak. RE in COMPASS are produced both in low density quiescent discharges and in disruptions triggered by massive gas injection (MGI).
    [Show full text]
  • Model for Screening of Resonant Magnetic Perturbations by Plasma
    Model for screening of resonant magnetic perturbations by plasma in a realistic tokamak geometry and its impact on divertor strike points P. Cahynaa,1,∗, E. Nardonb, JET EFDA Contributors2 aInstitute of Plasma Physics, AS CR, v.v.i., Association EURATOM/IPP.CR, Za Slovankou 3, 182 00 Prague, Czech Republic bAssociation EURATOM-CEA, CEA/DSM/IRFM, CEA Cadarache, 13108 St-Paul-lez-Durance, France Abstract This work addresses the question of the relation between strike-point splitting and magnetic stochasticity at the edge of a poloidally diverted tokamak in the presence of externally imposed magnetic perturbations. More specifically, ad-hoc helical current sheets are introduced in order to mimic a hypothetical screening of the external resonant magnetic perturbations by the plasma. These current sheets, which suppress magnetic islands, are found to reduce the amount of splitting expected at the target, which suggests that screening effects should be observable experimentally. Multiple screening current sheets reinforce each other, i.e. less current relative to the case of only one current sheet is required to screen the perturbation. Keywords: Theory and Modelling, Plasma properties, Plasma-Materials Interaction arXiv:1012.4015v2 [physics.plasm-ph] 27 Jan 2011 ∗Corresponding author Email address: [email protected] (P. Cahyna) 1Presenting author 2See the Appendix of F. Romanelli et al., Proceedings of the 22nd IAEA Fusion Energy Conference 2008, Geneva, Switzerland Preprint submitted to Journal of Nuclear Materials November 10, 2018 1. Introduction An axisymmetric, single null, poloidally diverted tokamak has two strike-lines where the plasma hits the divertor targets: one on the high field side (HFS) and one on the low field side (LFS).
    [Show full text]
  • Parallel SOL Transport Regime in Tokamak COMPASS
    45th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics P5.1081 Parallel SOL transport regime in tokamak COMPASS K. Jirakova1;2, J. Seidl1, J. Adamek1, P. Bilkova1, J. Cavalier 1, M. Dimitrova1, J. Horacek1, M. Komm1 1 Institute of Plasma Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague 2 Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague Power exhaust in a tokamak fusion reactor is partly realised through energetic plasma particles heating the divertor and the first wall. The power crossing the separatrix must be distributed along the plasma-facing components without heating them to a high temperature or causing strong sputtering. This applies espe- cially to the divertor, where particle power deposition is focused onto a narrow stripe along the strike points, figure 1. It is there- fore desirable to establish a significant parallel plasma temper- ature gradient between upstream, where most of the cross-field transport is concentrated, and the divertor targets. Using the two-point model [1] as a base, the parallel tempera- Figure 1: Schema of toka- ture gradient can be quantified using the collisionality parameter, mak SOL transport. ∗ −16 nuL n = 10 2 : the mean number of collisions a particle under- Tu goes on the way from upstream to target. Here L stands for flux tube length, nu is upstream electron density, and Tu is upstream temperature. ∗ small temperature gradient Tu < 1:5Tt n < 10 sheath-limited regime ∗ significant temperature gradient Tu > 3Tt n > 15 conduction-limited regime The conduction-limited regime allows for a relatively cold target plasma while keeping up- stream at the same temperature.
    [Show full text]
  • ELM Electron Temperature Measurements on Divertor Compared to the Pedestal Temperature in the COMPASS Tokamak J
    46th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics P2.1042 ELM electron temperature measurements on divertor compared to the pedestal temperature in the COMPASS tokamak J. Adamek1, A. Devitre2, M. Komm1, J. Cavalier1, J. Horacek1, M. Sos1, P. Bilkova1, D. Tskhakaya1,3, J. Seidl1, V. Weinzettl1, M. Hron1, R. Panek1, COMPASS Team1 and the EUROfusion MST1 team4 1Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic 2 Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de Lorraine, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France 3 Department of Mathematics, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria 4 See the author list of Meyer H. et al 2017 Nucl. Fusion 57 102014 Investigation of the ELM using divertor probes can provide heat loads and electron temperature with high temporal resolution [1, 2]. Recent evaluation of ELM electron temperature with JET divertor probes showed that the maxima of ELM electron temperature are almost one order of magnidute lower than the pedestal temperature [3]. However, JET probe results use conditionally averaged ELM I-V characteristics, which could underestimate the electron temperature maxima due to the filamentary structure of the ELMs [4]. We report on systematic measurements of the ELM electron temperature in the COMPASS divertor during a set of ELMy H-mode discharges aiming at a comparison between the ELM peak values and the corresponding pedestal temperature. The pedestal temperature in the last 30% of ELM cycle is routinely provided by a high-resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system using a conventional modified tangential (mtanh) fit. Newly, we have also obtained the electron temperature on top of the pedestal by means of the two-line fitting method (bilinear).
    [Show full text]
  • An Unreal Reality Pushes Fusion Science Jet – the Most Successful Performance in Years How to Tame Plasma Turbulence
    FUSION IN EUROPE NEWS & VIEWS ON THE PROGRESS OF FUSION RESEARCH AN UNREAL REALITY PUSHES FUSION SCIENCE JET – THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE IN YEARS HOW TO TAME PLASMA TURBULENCE 4 2016 FUSION IN EUROPE 4 2016 Contents Delphine Keller from EURO­ fusion’s French Research Unit Moving Forward CEA is dressed for a jump into the virtual fusion world. Glas­ 3 A European fusion programme to be proud of ses, immersive headsets and motion trackers allow her to 4 The most successful performance in years study the interior of a tokamak. Picture: CEA 6 An unreal reality pushes fusion science 10 IAEA awards EUROfusion’s work 12 Impressions Research Units 14 COMPASS has changed its point of view 18 How to tame plasma turbulence 18 21 Mix it up! The simulation of electrostatic potential along 22 News the torus lines inside a fusion experiment. These experiments help to find origins of plasma turbulence.. Community Picture: GYRO/General Atomics 24 Supernovae in the lab – powered by EUROfusion 28 Pushing the science beyond fusion 30 Young faces of fusion – Robert Abernethy 12 Fuel for Thought Who says operators at the Czech tokamak 33 Combining Physics and Management Forces COMPASS don’t have a sense Perspectives of humour? – More amusing details from fusion on page 12 and 13. 34 Summing Up Picture: EUROfusion EUROfusion © Tony Donné (EUROfusion Programme Manager) Imprint Programme Management Unit – Garching 2016. FUSION IN EUROPE Boltzmannstr. 2 This newsletter or parts of it may not be reproduced ISSN 1818­5355 85748 Garching / Munich, Germany without permission. Text, pictures and layout, except phone: +49-89-3299-4128 where noted, courtesy of the EUROfusion members.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Generation of Real-Time Systems in the JET Tokamak
    A New Generation of Real-Time Systems in the JET Tokamak D. Alves, , A.C. Neto,. , D.F. Valcarcel, R. Felton, J.M. Lopez, A. Barbalace, L. Boncagni, P. Card, G. De Tommasi, , A. Goodyear, S. Jachmich, P.J. Lomas, F. Maviglia, P. McCullen, A. Murari, M. Rainford, C. Reux, F. Rimini, F. Sartori, A.V. Stephen, J. Vega, R. Vitelli, L. Zabeo, K.-D. Zastrow and JET EFDA contributors Abstract—Recently a new recipe for developing and deploying analysis of a user-space MARTe based application synchronising real-time systems has become increasingly adopted in the JET over a network is also presented. The goal is to compare its tokamak. Powered by the advent of x86 multi-core technology deterministic performance while running on a vanilla and on a and the reliability of the JET's well established Real-Time Data Messaging Real time Grid (MRG) Linux kernel. Network (RTDN) to handle all real-time I/O, an official Linux vanilla kernel has been demonstrated to be able to provide real­ time performance to user-space applications that are required to meet stringent timing constraints. In particular, a careful rearrangement of the Interrupt ReQuests' (IRQs) affinities to­ I. INTRODUCTION gether with the kernel's CPU isolation mechanism allows to N the past, real-time requirements meant that a real-time obtain either soft or hard real-time behavior depending on the Operating System (OS) had to be used. The ratio between synchronization mechanism adopted. Finally, the Multithreaded I Application Real-Time executor (MARTe) framework is used for resource availability and demand was very low, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy CONTENTS CONTENTS
    EuropEan Consortium for thE DEvElopmEnt of fusion EnErgy EuropEan Consortium for thE DEvElopmEnt of fusion EnErgy Contents Contents introDuCtion ReseaRCH units CooRDinating national ReseaRCH FoR euRofusion 16 agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile (enea), italy euRofusion: eMboDying tHe sPiRit oF euRoPean CollaboRation 17 FinnFusion, finland 4 the essence of fusion 18 fusion@Öaw, austria the tantalising challenge of realising fusion power 19 hellenic fusion research unit (Hellenic Ru), greece the history of European fusion collaboration 20 institute for plasmas and nuclear fusion (iPFn), portugal 5 Eurofusion is born 21 institute of solid state physics (issP), latvia the road from itEr to DEmo 22 Karlsruhe institute of technology (Kit), germany 6 Eurofusion facts at a glance 23 lithuanian Energy institute (lei), lithuania 7 itEr facts at a glance 24 plasma physics and fusion Energy, Department of physics, technical university of Denmark (Dtu), Denmark JEt facts at a glance 25 plasma physics Department, wigner Fusion, hungary 8 infographic: Eurofusion devices and research units 26 plasma physics laboratory, Ecole royale militaire (lPP-eRM/KMs), Belgium 27 ruder Boškovi´c institute, Croatian fusion research unit (CRu), Croatia 28 slovenian fusion association (sFa), slovenia 29 spanish national fusion laboratory (lnF), CiEmat, spain 30 swedish research Council (vR), sweden rEsEarCh unit profilEs 31 sylwester Kaliski institute of plasma physics and laser microfusion (iPPlM), poland 32 the institute
    [Show full text]
  • Introducing Minimum Fisher Regularisation Tomography To
    EFDA–JET–CP(12)01/03 J. Mlynar, M. Imrisek, V. Weinzettl, M. Odstrcil, J. Havlicek, F. Janky, B. Alper, A. Murari and JET EFDA contributors Introducing Minimum Fisher Regularisation Tomography to Bolometric and Soft X-ray Diagnostic Systems of the COMPASS Tokamak “This document is intended for publication in the open literature. It is made available on the understanding that it may not be further circulated and extracts or references may not be published prior to publication of the original when applicable, or without the consent of the Publications Officer, EFDA, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB, UK.” “Enquiries about Copyright and reproduction should be addressed to the Publications Officer, EFDA, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB, UK.” The contents of this preprint and all other JET EFDA Preprints and Conference Papers are available to view online free at www.iop.org/Jet. This site has full search facilities and e-mail alert options. The diagrams contained within the PDFs on this site are hyperlinked from the year 1996 onwards. Introducing Minimum Fisher Regularisation Tomography to Bolometric and Soft X-ray Diagnostic Systems of the COMPASS Tokamak J. Mlynar1, M. Imrisek2, V. Weinzettl1, M. Odstrcil,1,2, J. Havlicek1,3, F. Janky1,3, B. Alper4, A. Murari5 and JET EFDA contributors* JET-EFDA, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB, Abingdon, UK 1Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Association EURATOM-IPP.CR, Za Slovankou 3, CZ-182 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic 2Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, CTU Prague, Association EURATOM-IPP.CR, Brehova 8, CZ-115 19 Prague 1, Czech Republic 3Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Association EURATOM-IPP.CR, V Holesovickach 2, CZ-180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic 4EURATOM-CCFE Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB, Abingdon, Oxon, UK 5Consorzio RFX, Association EURATOM-ENEA sulla Fusione, I-35127, Padova, Italy * See annex of F.
    [Show full text]