Data Acquisition and Controls for the SSCL Accelerator Systems String Test Phase I

Abstract

The Accelerator Systems String Test (ASST) was a major milestone in SSCL R&D. Phase I demonstrated that the smallest repetitive sequence of bending magnets (a half cell) could be installed, leak checked, cooled to liquid helium temperatures, energized, and safely quenched. To support this activity, a control system had to be developed to operate and monitor cryogenic systems in the string, along with LCW and vacuum systems. Also, since this is a test facility, the magnet systems were heavily instrumented to provide sufficient data to confirm that design requirements were met, that the system was operating safely and as expected, and allow further design studies necessary for the construction of the SSC. This required the design and implementation of an acquisition system capable of collecting relatively large amounts of data, at various data rates, and presenting this data both to operations personnel and to a database for off-line analysis. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, and operation of the data acquisition system and controls employed on the ASST.