Use of the Accessware Interface/Database Software in the Neutral Beam Control Systems Used by the DIII-D Tokamak

The complexities of monitoring and controlling the various DIII-D Tokamak systems have always required the aid of high-speed computer resources. Recent upgrades in computer hardware to the DIII-D central operations and Neutral Beam computer systems have forced a redesign of the corresponding software. These newer systems cannot make use of the antiquated computer platforms of the past. Entirely new software has been written/installed to replace the old. During the design and development many newer features have been added; especially in the realm of Graphical User Interfaces and database management. For most of the systems involved, this required the implementation of a third party software, including a crucial package written by AccessWare Inc. of Houston Texas

SYSTEM DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE FOR THE RECENT DIII-D NEUTRAL BEAM COMPUTER UPGRADE

OAK-B135 This operating year marks an upgrade to the computer system charged with control and data acquisition for neutral beam injection system's heating at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, funded by the US Department of Energy and operated by General Atomics (GA). This upgrade represents the third and latest major revision to a system which has been in service over twenty years. The first control and data acquisition computers were four 16 bit mini computers running a proprietary operating system. Each of the four controlled two ion source over dedicated CAMAC highway. In a 1995 upgrade, the system evolved to be two 32 bit Motorola mini-computers running a version of UNIX. Each computer controlled four ion sources with two CAMAC highways per CPU. This latest upgrade builds on this same logical organization, but makes significant advances in cost, maintainability, and the degree to which the system is open to future modification. The new control and data acquisition system is formed of two 2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 based PC's, running the LINUX operating system. Each PC drives two CAMAC serial highways using a combination of Kinetic Systems PCI standard CAMAC Hardware Drivers and a low-level software driver written in-house expressly for this device. This paper discusses the overall system design and implementation detail, describing actual operating experience for the initial six months of operation

Hardware and Software Upgrades to DIII-D Main Computer Control System

The complexities of monitoring and controlling the various DIII-D tokamak systems have always required the aid of high-speed computer resources. Because of recent improvements in computing technology, DIII-D has upgraded both hardware and software for the central DIII-D control system. This system is responsible for coordination of all main DIII-D subsystems during a plasma discharge. The replacement of antiquated older hardware has increased reliability and reduced costs both in the initial procurement and eventual maintenance of the system. As expected, upgrading the corresponding computer software has become the more time consuming and expensive part of this upgrade. During this redesign, the main issues focused on making the most of existing in-house codes, speed with which the new system could be brought on-line, the ability to add new features/enhancements, ease of integration with all DIII-D systems and future portability/upgrades. The resulting system has become a template by which other DIII-D systems can follow during similar upgrade paths; in particular DIII-D's main data acquisition system and neutral beam injection (NBI)

Next-generation plasma control in the DIII-D tokamak

The advanced tokamak (AT) operating mode, which is the principal focus of the DIII-D tokamak requires highly integrated and complex plasma control. This paper describes progress towards the DIII-D AT mission goal through both improvements in real-time computational hardware and control algorithm capability. A number of device constraints, some unique to DIII-D, and their impact on operational shape and position control are discussed. Some partial solutions are described. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Performance, diagnostics, controls and plans for the gyrotron system on the DIII-D tokamak

The DIII-D ECH complex is being upgraded with three new depressed collector gyrotrons. The performance of the existing system has been very good. As more gyrotrons having higher power are added to the system, diagnostics of gyrotron operation, optimization of the performance and qualification of components for higher power become more important. A new FPGA-based gyrotron control system is being installed, additional capabilities for rapid real time variation of the rf injection angles by the DIII-D Plasma Control System are being tested and infrastructure enhancements are being completed. Longer term plans continue to include ECH as a major component in the DIII-D heating and current drive capabilities

Performance, diagnostics, controls and plans for the gyrotron system on the DIII-D tokamak

The DIII-D ECH complex is being upgraded with three new depressed collector gyrotrons. The performance of the existing system has been very good. As more gyrotrons having higher power are added to the system, diagnostics of gyrotron operation, optimization of the performance and qualification of components for higher power become more important. A new FPGA-based gyrotron control system is being installed, additional capabilities for rapid real time variation of the rf injection angles by the DIII-D Plasma Control System are being tested and infrastructure enhancements are being completed. Longer term plans continue to include ECH as a major component in the DIII-D heating and current drive capabilities