The EPICS based plant control system for KSTAR—First operation period implementations and experiences

Abstract

After successful achieving first plasma, Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) is now preparing second operation that includes power supplies with full power operation and more diagnostic systems. During first campaign the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) was adopted as a control middleware of the KSTAR control system showed stable and reliable results and did not reveal any significant system failures. The EPICS based plant control system is used for data acquisition, data archiving and data visualization and is interfaced with Central Control System (CCS). A plant control system requires an EPICS Input Output Controller (IOC) and its own DAQ system. During the first operation the EPICS based control systems were mainly used slow data acquisition at a rate less than 10 Hz. The hardware platforms were Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI). In this paper we will describe following items: the details of control function, implementation of each plant control system, operation results and analysis, focusing on the Tokamak Monitoring System (TMS), the Vacuum Monitoring System (VMS), the Current Lead System (CLS), the Helium Distribution System (HDS), and the Heating Systems.