Overview of the NSTX Control System
Authors: P. Sichta, J. Dong, G. Oliaro, and P. Roney
Date of PPPL Report: December 2001
Presented at: the 8th International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems, San Jose, CA., November 27 - 30, 2001.
The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is an innovative magnetic fusion device that was constructed by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Columbia University, and the University of Washington at Seattle. Since achieving first plasma in 1999, the device has been used for fusion research through an international collaboration of more than twenty institutions. The NSTX is operated through a collection of control systems that encompass a wide range of technology, from hardwired relay controls to real-time control systems with giga-FLOPS of capability. This paper presents a broad introduction to the control systems used on NSTX, with an emphasis on the computing controls, data acquisition, and synchronization systems.