A new control system for SECRAL

TL;DR

This paper presents an upgraded control system for SECRAL that enhances efficiency, precision, and safety through hardware and software improvements, including digital power units, servo motors, and integrated alarm protections.

Contribution

The paper introduces a comprehensive upgrade to SECRAL's control system, integrating digital power supplies, servo motors, and advanced control strategies for improved performance.

Findings

System runs smoothly online

Enhanced control accuracy and stability

Improved safety with alarm and interlock functions

Abstract

To improve the control efficiency of Superconducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion source(SECRAL) for Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou(HIRFL), a upgrade version of control system for SECRAL is designed and set up. The control software package is developed by Visual C++, which is able to control and monitor all of the equipment for the SECRAL system about 130 parameters. The previous analog power supplies are replaced by four digital power units at High Voltage(HV) platform, The old slow speed of AC motors are upgraded to servo motors newly for higher precision, stability and linearity. Meanwhile, some control strategy and user interface are optimized. In order to prevent the incorrect operation which may cause the quench of the superconducting magnet, alarm and interlock protection functions are added to the software and hardware. Since the upgraded SECRAL control system is online, it has been running smoothly.