Overview of the TFTR Computer System

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) is an experimental device built to study the physics and engineering problems of magnetically confined plasmas with temperatures and densities close to those that would exist in an actual fusion reactor. One of the prime goals of TFTR is to reach scientific breakeven, which is defined as the point where the amount of power used to maintain plasma temperatures is equal to the amount of power released through fusion reactions. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the computer system that provides the control, monitoring, data collection and analysis functions for TFTR.