Author: Volpe, G.
Paper Title Page
WEPKN019 A Programmable Logic Controller-Based System for the Recirculation of Liquid C6F14 in the ALICE High Momentum Particle Identification Detector at the Large Hadron Collider 745
 
  • I. Sgura, G. De Cataldo, A. Franco, C. Pastore, G. Volpe
    INFN-Bari, Bari, Italy
 
  We present the design and the implementation of the Control System (CS) for the recirculation of liquid C6F14 (Perfluorohexane) in the High Momentum Particle Identification Detector (HMPID). The HMPID is a sub-detector of the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and it uses liquid C6F14 as Cherenkov radiator medium in 21 quartz trays for the measurement of the velocity of charged particles. The primary task of the Liquid Circulation System (LCS) is to ensure the highest transparency of C6F14 to ultraviolet light by re-circulating the liquid through a set of special filters. In order to provide safe long term operation a PLC-based CS has been implemented. The CS supports both automatic and manual operating modes, remotely or locally. The adopted Finite State Machine approach minimizes the possible operator errors and provides a hierarchical control structure allowing the operation and monitoring of a single radiator tray. The LCS is protected against anomalous working conditions by both active and passive systems. The active ones are ensured via the control software running in the PLC whereas the human interface and data archiving are provided via PVSS, the SCADA framework which integrates the full detector control. The LCS under CS control has been fully commissioned and proved to meet all requirements, thus enabling HMPID to successfully collect the data from the first LHC operation..  
poster icon Poster WEPKN019 [1.270 MB]