Study and Development of a Data Acquisition & Control (DAQ) System using TCP/Modbus Protocol

TL;DR

This paper presents a cost-effective, remotely controllable DAQ system using TCP/Modbus protocol for vacuum measurement in a cyclotron, enabling safe, real-time monitoring and data recording without complex PLC deployment.

Contribution

The paper introduces a DAQ-based remote monitoring system with a user-friendly HMI, replacing traditional PLCs for vacuum measurement in a cyclotron environment.

Findings

System achieved high accuracy in vacuum measurement

Remote monitoring was successfully implemented from safe zones

Deployment was faster and simpler than PLC-based systems

Abstract

The aim of the project was to develop a HMI (Human-Machine Interface) with the help of which a person could remotely control and monitor the Vacuum measurement system. The Vacuum measurement system was constructed using a DAQ (Data Acquisition & Control) implementation instead of a PLC based implementation because of the cost involvement and complexity involved in deployment when only one basic parameter i.e. vacuum is required to be measured. The system is to be installed in the Superconducting Cyclotron section of VECC. The need for remote monitoring arises as during the operation of the K500 Superconducting Cyclotron, people are not allowed to enter within a certain specified range due to effective ion radiation. Using the designed software i.e. HMI the following objective of remote monitoring could be achieved effortlessly from any area which is in the safe zone. Moreover the software was designed in a way that data could be recorded real time and in an unmanned way. The hardware is also easy to setup and overcomes the complexity involved in interfacing a PLC with other hardware. The deployment time is also quite fast. Lastly, the practical results obtained showed an appreciable degree of accuracy of the system and friendliness with the user.