Machine protection system algorithm compiler and simulator

The Machine Protection System (MPS) component of the SLC´s beam selection system, in which integrated current is continuously monitored and limited to safe levels through careful selection and feedback of the beam repetition rate, is described elsewhere. The novel decision making mechanism by which that system can evaluate “safe levels”, and choose an appropriate repetition rate in real-time, is described here. The algorithm that this mechanism uses to make its decision is written in text files and expressed in states of the accelerator and its devices, one file per accelerator region. Before being used, a file is “compiled” to a binary format which can be easily processed as a forward-chaining decision tree. It is processed by distributed microcomputers local to the accelerator regions. A parent algorithm evaluates all results, and reports directly to the beam control microprocessor. Operators can test new algorithms, or changes they make to them, with an online graphical MPS simulator