Integration of advanced feedback control techniques on Tore Supra

This work deals with the implementation and integration of advanced feedback control schemes on the Tore Supra experiment, reports the technical details and shows the first positive results that have been achieved. Encouraging outcomes have been obtained in the field of current and pressure profiles control. A new feedback control algorithm, whose purpose is to maximize the plasma performance, has been effectively tested too. These and other promising results, whose detailed description will be given in the article, have been obtained thanks to real-time availability of several diagnostic systems. A key issue is the possibility to integrate these controls in such a way as to cope with different requests at the same time. For example, the simultaneous control of the total plasma current by means of the lower hybrid heating power, of the loop voltage by means of the poloidal field system and of the hard X-ray profile's width through the parallel refractive index has been successfully accomplished. The Tore Supra real-time feedback control system showed robust, flexible and effective.