Stellarator WEGA as a test-bed for the WENDELSTEIN 7-X control system concepts

The concepts for the control of the fusion experiment WENDELSTEIN 7-X (W7-X) consider all requirements regarding safety, steady-state operation, flexibility, availability, performance and scalability.The early demonstration of the steady-state control concepts with all interacting parties is necessary to minimize development costs since integrated tests of components are scheduled for a later stage of the W7-X project planning.Therefore the implementation of an integrated test-bed for the control concepts of W7-X is very important to minimize project risks. Main objectives of the test-bed project are an integrated test of control, data acquisition, diagnostics operation and data processing in a W7-X-like environment (steady-state segmented operation, real-time control, interplay of the central slow control system with components control systems, on-line data analysis tools), a demonstration of the W7-X safety concept and the education of engineers and session leaders for a W7-X-like machine operation.The contribution describes the use of the small in-house stellarator experiment WEGA as test-bed for the W7-X control concepts.