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A major refurbishment of the toroidal complex of the RFX-mod device is in progress and it will include the removal of the Inconel vacuum vessel and a modification of the stainless steel supporting structure to be made vacuum-tight. The axisymmetric equilibrium control in RFX-mod was responsible for the control of the plasma current, horizontal and vertical position along with its stability and the plasma shape. The new implementation framework, both hardware and software, is described. The system has been fully reviewed and modified, if needed, for its prospective use in RFX-mod2. In order to run tests in an operation-like context, the updated system has also been implemented in the MARTe2 framework, to be deployed for the real-time applications of RFX-mod2. The results of the previous versions were reproduced and the cycle-time requirements were met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of experimental tests on samples made of copper coated with alumina layer, performed to assess the reliability of its dielectric properties for applications in the low temperature plasma at the edge of a fusion device. The cue of the study was related to the plasma facing components of the RFX-mod2 fusion device (Marrelli et al., 2019, Peruzzo et al., 2023, Peruzzo et al., 2019), devoted to the experimental study of the magnetic confinement of fusion plasmas in a variety of configurations, including the reversed-field pinch and the tokamak. In RFX-mod2 an in-vacuum copper shell for the passive stabilization of MHD modes will surround the plasma. To avoid potentially harmful electrical discharges, which could be induced by rapid transients of the plasma current, this structure must be covered with an electrically insulating layer. For RFX-mod2 an alumina coating was chosen, whose dielectric properties have been tested both in air and in the presence of weakly ionized plasma. Electrical tests, conducted on copper samples with alumina deposits of about 100 μ m thickness, revealed that the ceramic layer has a high electrical resistance value in air (> 1 G Ω), but electrical discharges can occur in presence of a weakly ionized plasma, depending on compactness and porosity of the alumina layer, causing local melting of the alumina and expulsion of copper droplets from the substrate. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analyses revealed that in the failed samples the ceramic layer was irregular and rough, with interconnected cavities and cracks, which could reduce its effective thickness and explain the dielectric breakdown at relatively low voltages (< 400 V). The analyses also showed that samples with a more compact layer present a higher dielectric strength in the presence of the plasma, highlighting that compactness and porosity play crucial roles in ensuring good insulation for materials in a plasma. This study led the definition of the requirements for the insulating coating of the plasma facing components of the RFX-mod2 fusion machine, however the results can be useful for other fusion and non-fusion plasma applications requiring electrical insulation, which can span from industrial devices to spacecrafts. • The RFX-mod2 design requires insulating the copper shell to prevent harmful discharges • Alumina deposit on copper has shown high resistance in air but breakdowns in plasma • SEM analysis shows alumina's microstructure impacts electrical insulation in plasma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]