The objective of this workshop is to initiate a dialogue
between tokamak fusion physicists and engineers, and specialists in
mathematical control theory, with the intended outcome of starting
collaborative efforts to solve some of the many mathematical modeling and
control problems that will arise in the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER) over the next 5-10 years. The ITER tokamak, an international $5 billion project that
includes the European Union, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of
Korea, the Russian Federation, Japan, India, and the United States, will confine a
mixture of ionized isotopes of hydrogen, also known as plasma, at a temperature
of around 100 million degrees centigrade, fusing the isotopes of hydrogen into
helium and converting some of the matter involved in the reaction into a much larger
amount of energy. There is consensus in the fusion community that active
control will be one of the key enabling technologies. Control researchers will
receive a good general overview of the major objectives of fusion research and
obtain a basic understanding of the many control problems that must be solved
to achieve those objectives. Fusion
scientists will obtain an improved understanding of available control
technologies and expertise, with some feeling for how applicable these
techniques are to their own control problems.
Both communities will learn what is needed to initiate a collaborative
activity. The workshop will consist of two days of presentations and
discussion. Day 1 will provide an
overview of tokamak fusion and the associated control problems. Day 2 will provide a selected cross-section
of state-of the art mathematical control theories, which may be beneficial in
fusion control problems. A tour of the
DIII-D tokamak and fusion facility will be provided to enhance the learning
experience for control researchers.
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