Patent ID: 11929184
Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 9:
10. A method of controlling a plasma within a plasma vessel of a nuclear fusion reactor, the nuclear fusion reactor including one or more plasma control inputs, one or more primary sensors and one or more secondary sensors, and wherein the plasma control inputs are configured to adjust the properties of the plasma, the method comprising:
providing an initial control model relating readings of only the one or more primary sensors to control of the plasma control inputs;
performing a control loop including:
controlling the plasma using the one or more plasma control inputs in dependence upon the one or more primary sensors and/or one or more secondary sensors according to the control model;
determining, using a machine learning algorithm, correlations between readings of the one or more secondary sensors and readings of the one or more primary sensors, and/or between readings of the one or more secondary sensors and states of the one or more plasma control inputs; and
adjusting the control model based on the correlations determined by the machine learning algorithm, wherein adjusting the control model includes adding a secondary sensor to the control model when a correlation has been found between readings of the one or more secondary sensors and readings of one or more primary sensors, and/or between readings of the one or more secondary sensors and states of the one or more plasma control inputs, and
controlling the plasma according to the adjusted control model;

wherein the one or more plasma control inputs comprise any one or more of: magnetic field coils; poloidal field coils; toroidal field coils; a heating system; a current drive system; and a fuel input, and wherein the one or more primary sensors monitor the plasma and the one or more secondary sensors monitor aspects of the reactor other than the plasma.