Concept Design of the Control System for the Upgrading Pulsed High Magnetic Field Facility

The pulsed high magnetic field facility at Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center (WHMFC) will be upgraded to total 167 MJ capacitor banks and 27 experiment stations in 5 years. The new facility will be divided into four zones. Each zone has its associated control system and individual interface, and can be operated simultaneously for efficiency or combined with each other to achieve higher magnetic field. To realize the goal of convenient, stable and reliable operation of the facility, the central control system will be upgraded meanwhile based on Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). According to the distributed structure, hardware and software of the control system will be redesigned. Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) modules are employed to fulfill local control for power modules and experiment stations. Based on the control system, many programs such as discharge control, interlock, status query, data archiving will be developed. A prototype system shows that the control system can satisfy the operation demands of the pulsed high magnetic field facility at WHMFC.