The first alarm survey system to be used on the ITER site has been successfully installed. This is the result of a fruitful collaboration between F4E, ITER IO and the Spanish system and software engineering company GTD Sistemas who have integrated the F4E requirements into an efficient solution.
This alarm survey system aims first and foremost to protect the people working on the ITER site and its facilities, for example by detecting a fire. It is an electrical system which processes information inputs received from sensors. The information received from the sensors and the programming of the software within the system allows it to transfer these alarms to a permanent alarm survey guard in order to undertake relevant actions. Should an event such as a fire be detected by a sensor, an alarm will be immediately triggered in the control room, providing details of the source and displaying a list of sequential actions to be taken by the guards on duty. The system is made up of Siemens Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) connected via optical fibres to distributed Input Output modules (RIOs), collecting variables and alarms generated on site. Generated data are then transferred for archiving and visualisation in the ITER facility control room.
“Work has taken approximately one year but the alarm survey system is a tool which will be constantly developed”, says Roberto Campagnolo, F4E’s Project Manager responsible for dealing with the development of the alarm survey system. “We plan to connect this system to other site systems such as the one which alerts about stormy weather and the system which monitors the distribution of electricity – this will increase the security on-site”, he enthuses.
“For the moment, the alarm survey system is currently being used for ITER site’s contractor areas, as well as the Poloidal Field coil building, but the plan is that all the buildings on the ITER platform will be connected to this system within the next few years”, says Cyril Lescure, in charge of the integration of all sensors, actuators and operator interfaces.
“The alarm system survey is on track for further upgrades and will also incorporate alarms from the ITER Site Services building, Assembly Hall, cryoplant and the ITER electrical distribution system which is currently being installed. The upgrade will be concluded during the spring of 2017”, says Françis Munoz, F4E Technical Officer in Cadarache who is responsible for overseeing the building services work for tokamak and surrounding buildings carried out on-site.
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