The design of PACS (Physics-oriented Accelerator Control System) and its implementation in a heavy ion accelerator facility

Abstract

As many diverse accelerator facilities are designed, constructed and operated by IMP (Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences), the existing physics control system cannot cover all requirements of these facilities. In order to save the construction time, improve the commissioning efficiency, simplify the operation and reach higher beam intensity and better beam quality, a new physics control system, PACS (Physics-oriented Accelerator Control System), is proposed, designed and implemented in the IMP. With the control layer in three layers, i.e. application layer, physics layer and control layer, the PACS is protocol neutral and can be deployed to all accelerator facilities in the IMP without massive reprogramming. The physics layer encapsulates all physics control processes, including device-level physics and system-level physics, into highly usable interfaces, which makes the development of the application layer and the customized applications simpler, more robust and efficient. Due to the OOP (Object-oriented Programming) technology used in this layer and specific designs, the PACS is highly scalable and can keep pace with the rapidly changing hardware and software. As the application layer is built upon the physics layer interfaces, no matter what is updated in the physics layer, the applications remain unchanged. Many new physics control processes can be tested and implemented in the physics layer by the developers or the users without influencing the operation of these facilities. Now, a version of PACS for miniature facilities is implemented and tested in the CSR, a heavy ion accelerator facility for scientific research in the IMP. It meets the expected goals and provides a solid base for following versions. In the future, the PACS will become a general-purpose physics control system for all heavy ion accelerator facilities.