BIG DATA, high temporal precision
BIG DATA, high temporal precision for the optimization in the integrated system of positioning beam at particle accelerators (RTC-2016-5009-3). Co-financed by FEDER funds (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional).
The main objective of the project is to develop a set of synchronization and industrial control techniques that allow the Spanish participation of SMEs and research groups in international projects of large scientific facilities by participating in the development and construction of critical systems and components related to distributed control technologies. The entities involved in this project are the company Seven Solutions, a reference in synchronization and control systems for particle accelerators, the Department of Architecture and Computer Technology of the University of Granada (UGR), experts in synchronization and Artificial intelligence techniques and finally the Center for Development of Industrial Technology (CIEMAT), the national leader in accelerator and fusion technologies.
One of the future international facilities whose next construction is currently being planned is the Early Neutron Source (ENS) – which corresponds to the first phase of the IFMIF project – whose objective is the production of neutrons with similar characteristics of a fusion reactor, for the qualification of the materials that will be used in the mentioned reactors. Spain and more specifically the participants in this consortium, are playing a very significant role in the current international projects related to this installation, the Government is studying at the moment the possibility of proposing its installation in Spain and more specifically in Granada.
In these installations, synchronization is a fundamental aspect. A common requirement to all of them is the use of a global and precise time in which activities are synchronized in order to operate efficiently, acquire data and generate actions in a coordinated way. The consortium of this project is leader in the technology White Rabbit (WR). WR is a frequency transfer and timing technology that allows operation with a “global notion of time” (clock signal), whose accuracy is under the nanosecond and is capable of working at distances of tens of kilometers. In addition, it is an extension of Ethernet compatible with other networks already deployed. Finally, it is important to mention that WR was developed at CERN and brought to industrial products by Seven Solutions, which is currently the reference company in WR technology.
One of the facilities that is already working with WR is IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) and, more specifically, its precursor / demonstrator IFMIF-EVEDA (currently being installed in Japan).
In this context, this project will perform an analysis and improvement of the frequency transfer to a series of LLRFs to optimize the transfer of energy from the accelerator to the particles. This project does not address the construction of these elements but rather aims to be part of an existing product for which they develop new functionalities that allow / improve their international sale.
