Computational Controls of Accelerators (CDL4)
Head of CDL4: Prof. Dr. Görschwin Fey, Dr. Holger Schlarb
Complex control processes in large-scale plants, for example for manufacturing of products or for conducting scientific experiments, are operated using a multi-layered, highly distributed hardware-software architecture. Due to the large number of sensors, control units and other infrastructure, large amounts of data are generated. The underlying physical processes require to handle data at high speed for control purposes. Configuration and operation are based on extensive expert knowledge. However, currently only a small part of the available data can be processed and used purposefully.
Taking the control and regulation system of the European XFEL (EuXFEL) and possible extensions as examples, the CDL Computational Control of Accelerators will consider process control as a "big data" problem and develop novel approaches for optimization, diagnosis, control and maintenance. The objectives are, for example, to increase the precision of scientific instruments and the availability of the overall system.
In the case of EuXFEL, the computer infrastructure is distributed over 3 kilometres and consists of 300 computer units that generate up to 30 TByte of raw data per day. Each computing unit itself consists of numerous microcontrollers for data acquisition and actuator control. Above this front-end layer, a middle layer works mainly in software that takes over the control. At the application level, user data, for example from imaging sensors, are finally evaluated and used.
For control, data must be processed in real-time. A complete view can only be achieved through efficient decentralized preprocessing. At the same time, reaction latency of less than 0.01 ms must be achieved. Due to environmental conditions that cannot be fully controlled, the dependencies between device configuration and quality are constantly changing, so that continuous readjustment of the settings is necessary.
Involved Research Groups
Dr. Annika Eichler, DESY, Machine Beam Controls
Dr. Holger Schlarb, DESY, Machine Beam Controls
Prof. Dr. Görschwin Fey, TUHH, Institut für Eingebettete Systeme
Dr. Tim Wilksen, DESY, Accelerator Control System
Associated Research Groups
Prof. Dr. Tobias Knopp, TUHH, Institut für Biomedizinische Bildgebung