Instrumentation and control system design for the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Abstract

The instrumentation and control system (ICS) of the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF), a facility for processing tritium for various applications and experiments at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is described. The ICS integrates all of the WETF process subsystems into a single cohesive unit. The hardware and software of the ICS provide a broad range of functions for the WETF operation, all of which must be performed under stringent safety requirements, and all of which must have a relatively high level of availability, efficiency of operations, and modifiability. The ICS features automatic computerized control for all of the WETF subsystems and permits computer manual control with appropriate software interlocks for process reliability and efficiency. It incorporates distributed intelligence to perform the data acquisition and process control functions and provides a centralized control room with color graphics monitors for the man-machine interface.<>