Closed-loop control and identification of resistive shell magnetohydrodynamics for the reversed-field pinch

Sammanfattning: It is demonstrated that control software updates for the magnetic confinement fusion experiment EXTRAP T2R can enable novel studies of plasma physics. Specifically, it is shown that the boundary radial magnetic field in T2R can be maintained at finite levels by feedback. System identification methods to measure in situ magnetohydrodynamic stability are developed and applied with encouraging results. Subsequently, results from closed-loop identification are used for retooling the T2R regulator. The track of research here pursued could possibly be relevant for future thermonuclear fusion reactors.