Bangbang controller design and implementation for EAST vertical instability control

•The linearized plasma vertical response model is designed and analysed.•The Bangbang controller for EAST vertical displacement is designed.•The Bangbang controller is optimized for time delay of control system.•We investigate efficacy of Bangbang controller with simulations.•Performance of the controller is roughly given by experiments. In the EAST 2014 campaign, a new internal coil (IC) power supply was used in order to enhance the control over the plasma’s vertical instabilities. The IC power supply now allows for current and voltage working modes with much higher peak voltages and currents and faster response time. In comparison the previous power supply only allowed for the current mode. A Bangbang and PID composite controller has been designed for the voltage mode based on optimal control theory and the RZIP rigid plasma response model. This paper will demonstrate that faster and enhanced controllability are realized with the combination of Bangbang and PID controller. For the large z position drift, the Bangbang controller will export the maximum voltage to achieve much faster power supply response and slow the vertical displacement events (VDEs). The PID controller is used for the small z drifts which will finally stabilize the VDEs with minimum z position oscillation. Furthermore, to evaluate the time latency of this control system and power supply, the stability and performance of the closed loop were simulated and analysed. This controller was finally implementation and test on EAST using the Quasi-snowflake shape which achieved growth rates of 500s−1. This paper shows that the new power supply using the bangbang+PID controller can significantly enhance the control over vertical instabilities.