Shape control with the XSC during plasma current ramp-up and ramp-down at the JET tokamak

The eXtreme Shape Controller (XSC) has been originally designed to control the plasma shape at JET during the flat-top phase, when the plasma current has a constant value. During the JET 2012 experimental campaigns, the XSC has been used to improve the shape control during the transient phases of plasma current ramp-up and ramp-down. In order to avoid the saturation of the actuators with these transient phases, a Current Limit Avoidance system (CLA ) has been designed and implemented. This paper discusses the CLA algorithm and presents the experimental results achieved at JET during the 2012 campaigns using the XSc. © 2013 IEEE.