Abstract
We have analyzed the state of the superconducting coil system in a LHD at NIFS (National Institute of Fusion Science) using a fuzzy logic theorem to detect quenching at an early stage. In this method, the “warning coefficient" of the coil system is calculated. As for the fuzzy variables, “effective stored heat" in the coil is introduced in addition to the voltage signal in order to improve quench detection and state estimation. The “effective stored heat" is an integrated value of the heat generated in the coil on the assumption that instantaneous heat in the conductor is continuously cooled by liquid helium. Experiments conducted using the LHD coils confirmed that quench alarm signals can be issued with sufficient lead time before quenching. On the other hand, in the case of small local disturbances, the system shows only a small increase in the caution level.
