Machine Control System of Steady State Superconducting Tokamak-1

Abstract

Central Control System (CCS) of the Steady State Superconducting Tokamak-1 (SST-1) controls and monitors around 25 plant and experiment subsystems of SST-1 located remotely from the Central-Control room. Machine Control System (MCS) is a supervisory system that sits on the top of the CCS hierarchy and implements the CCS state diagram. MCS ensures the software interlock between the SST-1 subsystems with the CCS, any subsystem communication failure or its local error does not prohibit the execution of the MCS and in-turn the CCS operation. MCS also periodically monitors the subsystem’s status and their vital process parameters throughout the campaign. It also provides the platform for the Central Control operator to visualize and exchange remotely the operational and experimental configuration parameters with the sub-systems. MCS remains operational 24×7 from the commencement to the termination of the SST-1 campaign. The developed MCS has performed robustly and flawlessly during all the last campaigns of SST-1 carried out so far. This paper will describe various aspects of the development of MCS.