Design of plasma shape control system for KSTAR tokamak

The development of the plasma shape control system of the Korea Superconducting Tokamak and Advanced Research (KSTAR) continues from the first utilization for plasma current/ major radii to the full-scale utilizations of the poloidal superconducting magnets and the in-vessel stabilization coils for the highly elongated (¿ ~ 2.0) plasmas planned in 2009/2010. In this paper the shape control of KSTAR is analyzed as a complete integrated form, including the operation design and experiences. In the first plasma campaign held in 2008, the plasma shape control system has been prepared as part of the pulse operation controls for the first daily operation. A time-synchronized shot sequence supervisions and actuator integrations has been done by the full-digital centralization scheme via the EPICS communicating layers and the dedicated fast communication layers. In the end a reliable real-time plasma feedback system have been accomplished for making/sustaining plasma current and major radius. The status of the shape control upgrade proposed for upcoming years is shown as well as the actuator control developments and the newly-introduced in-vessel vertical stabilization control scheme.