Tools for remote collaboration on the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

McHarg, B.B.; Casper, T. A.; Davis, S.; Greenwood, Dazza

doi:10.1016/s0920-3796(98)00403-7

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The EMSL Collaboratory, described above, is one of several collaboratory test beds funded by the Department of Energy under the DOE 2000 initiative. Other projects include the Diesel Combustion Collaboratory (1997–2000) (Pancerella, Rahn, & Yang, 1999); the Materials Microcharacterization Collaboratory (MCC, 1997–2000) (Zaluzec, 1997, 1998); and the Remote Experiment Environment (REE, 1994–1997), a collaboratory to support observation and participation in magnetic fusion energy research involving the DIII‐D tokamak experiment (Caspar et al, 1998; McHarg, Caspar, Davis, & Greenwood, 1999). A tokamak is a machine for creating a toroidally shaped magnetic confinement field used to contain the plasma, or very high‐temperature gases, required to achieve a fusion reaction.…”

Section: Collaboratory Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaboratories

Finholt

2002

Annual Review Info Sci & Tec

132

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Section: Collaboratory Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaboratories

Finholt

2002

Annual Review Info Sci & Tec

132

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“…In Europe, significant research and deployment of remote collaboration infrastructure was undertaken as JET operations transitioned to become a European Research Facility under the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) [6]. In the U.S., control of a major diagnostic on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at PPPL was demonstrated [7] in the early 1990s followed several years later by the demonstration of full remote operation of Alcator C-Mod and DIII-D from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) [8,9]. From 2001-2006, the U.S. National Fusion Collaboratory coordinated the creation of novel tools to support experimental operation through grid computing and advanced collaborative environments [10].…”

Section: Introduction and Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote operation of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

Schissel,

Cho,

Flanagan

et al. 2024

Nucl. Fusion

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Full remote scientific operation of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility is now possible through significant advances in the computer science hardware and software infrastructure made over the last decade. Capabilities around information visualization, data movement, and communication have all been enhanced. The level of capability deployed to remotely operate DIII-D required an infrastructure advancement over what had previously been achieved in the fusion community. The large quantity of real-time data that is automatically displayed on DIII-D’s control room screens can now be visualized by remote participants via web-based applications. New audio/video solutions using the VoIP and instant messaging application Discord have been implemented to mimic the dynamic and ad hoc scientific conversations that are critical in successfully operating an experimental campaign. Discord’s ability for a user to rapidly move between audio channels, text with images, and share screens is a significant enhancement over traditional videoconferencing tools. In addition, multiple combinations of broadcast audio are made available via a web-based application to allow remote participants to simultaneously listen to general announcements/sounds while conducting their own specific conversations. Secure methodologies have been put into place to allow remote control of hardware including DIII-D’s plasma control system application. Secure methods also included the ability of the on-site team to closely coordinate their work with remote team members which has been enhanced through extensions to the wireless network and the use of tablet computers for audio/video/screen sharing. However, no amount of software can fully replace the need for “hands on hardware.” This infrastructure was severely stress tested during the COVID-19 pandemic where occupancy of the DIII-D control room was restricted. Operational efficiency during the pandemic, measured in discharges per hour, remained high (3.8 +/- 0.8) compared to values obtained pre-pandemic (3.7 +/- 0.8).

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“…In the US, the ability to remotely view operations, to control selected instrumentation, and to complete analysis tasks was demonstrated as early as 1992 [3]. Remote operation of an entire tokamak experiment was tested in 1996 [4,5]. At about the same time, a system for remote participation in JT-60 experiments was deployed in collaboration with JAERI, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote third shift EAST operation: a new paradigm

et al. 2017

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General Atomics' (GA) scientists in the United States remotely conducted experimental operation of the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) in China during its third shift. Scientists led these experiments in a dedicated remote control room that utilized a novel computer science hardware and software infrastructure to allow data movement, visualization, and communication on the time scale of EAST's pulse cycle. This Fusion Science Collaboration Zone infrastructure allows the movement of large amounts of data between continents in a short time scale with a 300-fold increase in data transfer rate over that available using the traditional transmission protocol. Real-time data from control systems is moved almost instantaneously. An event system tied to the EAST pulse cycle allows automatic initiation of data transfers, resulting in bulk EAST data to be transferred to GA within minutes. The EAST data at GA is served via MDSplus to approved US collaborators avoiding multiple US clients from requesting data from EAST and competing for the longhaul network's bandwidth. At present there are 37 approved scientists from 8 US research institutions.

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Tools for remote collaboration on the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

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Remote operation of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility

Remote third shift EAST operation: a new paradigm

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