CONTROL SYSTEM OF CRYOGENIC PLANT FOR SUPERCONDUCTING CYCLOTRON AT VECC

Abstract

Cryogenic Plant of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre<br />consists of two Helium refrigerators (250W and 415W @<br />4.5K), valve box with sub-cooler and associated sub<br />systems like pure gas storage, helium purifier and impure<br />gas recovery etc. The system also consists of 3.1K liters<br />of liquid Nitrogen (LN2) storage and delivery system. The<br />plant is designed to cater the cryogenic requirements of<br />the Superconducting Cyclotron. The control system is<br />fully automated and does not require any human<br />intervention once it is started. EPICS (Experimental<br />Physics and Industrial Control System) architecture has<br />been adopted to design the Supervisory control and data<br />acquisition (SCADA) module. The EPICS Input Output<br />Controller (IOC) communicates with four Programmable<br />Logic Controllers (PLCs) over Ethernet based control<br />LAN to control/monitor 618 numbers of field Inputs/<br />Outputs(I/O). The plant is running very reliably round the<br />clock, however, the historical data trending of important<br />parameters during plant operation has been integrated to<br />the system for plant maintenance and easy diagnosis. The<br />400 KVA UPS with 10 minutes back up time have been<br />installed to keep the cryogenic system running with one<br />160KW cycle compressor during utility power<br />interruptions