Design and Commissioning of Control Algorithms for Optimal ECRH Power Injection in TCV’s Plasma

This work refers to the development, commissioning, and testing of a control algorithm to optimize the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power injection in the Tokamak á configuration variable (TCV). The aim is to understand how the injected microwave polarization, set by corrugated mirrors in the waveguide, influences relevant plasma parameters, namely, electron temperature and stray radiation. To accomplish this task, real-time polarization control is required; therefore, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is devised, based on an identified plant transfer function of the polarizing mirrors. The performance of the above-mentioned controller is first tested on the real plant without a plasma discharge and then during plasma operations. Sinusoidal trajectories are provided for the polarization angles, and the temperature-polarization and stray radiation-polarization correlations are studied. This development paves the way for future feedback control strategies based on real-time diagnostics to optimize power coupling and prevent component damage.