Advances and challenges in KSTAR plasma control toward long-pulse, high-performance experiments

Abstract An overview of advances and progress on the KSTAR plasma control improvement is given. The enhancement of the KSTAR plasma control system (PCS) continues in order to enable implementations of more sophisticated control algorithms and capabilities of integrated controls on magnets, gas, heating and off-normal event handling. Features and functionalities on the generic magnetic controls, kinetic controls and new fault scheme design are added for the operation space expansion, mainly regarding recent achievements of high plasma current up to 1.1 MA for 10 s, high-performance long pulse up to 90 s, and discharges relevant to ITER research. Technical challenges and prospective upgrades in the near future are described.