PBFA I Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System (PMES)

The PBFA I accelerator is a large distributed system which, in effect, contains 36 separate accelerators. Conventional analog recording of 8 to 10 monitor signals from each accelerator module is undesirable from a cost standpoint as well as from the standpoint of physically interpreting the data. It would be possible to monitor just one output signal from each module; however, in an operating environment it would be helpful to be able to pinpoint the stage within a module which caused the module to malfunction. The accumulation of sufficient data on each machine shot could also be used to form a data base which would be helpful in tracking long-term trends in individual component operation. Such a tracking scheme could predict component failures before they interfere with the experimental program. Computer based systems have been developed for high energy physics experiments under the guidelines of the IEEE Std 583-1975 for CAMAC instrumentation. Commercially available CAMAC modules have been incorporated in a low cost 250 channel data acquisition system for the PBFA I accelerator which gives a readout of selected accelerator parameters such as peak voltages, peak currents, and switch firing times within minutes of an experimental shot.