POPS: The 60MW power converter for the PS accelerator: Control strategy and performances

The main power supply of Proton-Synchrotron (PS) accelerator is one of the biggest at CERN. The old rotating machine system has been replaced with a new NPC based DC/DC power supply named POPS (Power system for PS main magnets) with capacitor banks as energy storage mean. POPS is in operation since February 2011. The operation of the PS accelerator requires a specific design of the control system with very high performance requirements in term of accuracy and precision. This paper describes the main lines of the control strategies analyzing the problems encountered and the solutions adopted. The performances of the converter are presented throughout the paper.