Plasma Engineering Aspects of Large Tokamak Operation

In this paper the plasma engineering aspects involved with the reliable and safe operation of present-day large tokamaks are described. First a brief review of the underlying empirical and theoretical knowledge of equilibrium and stability of tokamak plasmas is given. Then some of the recent experiments with disruption preventive actions are discussed. Finally the state of the art in feedback control systems, real-time protection circuits, and the application of pulse scenarios is reviewed.