Analysis of the control system of ICE, the Insulation and Cooling test facility for the development of the ITER Neutral Beam Injector

Consorzio RFX will host two experimental devices to address the main issues of the ITER heating neutral beam injectors: SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma), an ion source at low acceleration voltage (100 kV), and MITICA (Megavolt ITer Injector and Concept Advancement), a neutral beam injector at 1 MV. ICE (Insulation and Cooling Experiment) is a test facility developed at Consorzio RFX to tackle significant SPIDER and MITICA technological aspects that require a preliminary study. The ICE control system is mainly based on commercial off-the-shelf products. It is composed of four local units: automation and monitoring, supervision, data handling, and communication. The automation and monitoring unit is based on Siemens PLC technology. The supervision unit relies on the commercial PVSS-II SCADA system that is widely used at CERN. The data handling unit, the only part of the ICE control system not based on industrial products, extends the functionalities of MDSplus, a framework for the management of scientific data. The communication unit comprehends the network infrastructure and the timing system. The paper presents the ICE control system, its local units and the main performance and operational requirements.