FAIR: 11 Years of Accelerator Control System Delivery
FAIR: The Universe in the Lab
The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) represents probably the most ambitious accelerator project undertaken to date. It is being constructed at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy-Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany.
The facility consists of a superconducting fast-ramped synchrotron (SIS100 with a circumference of 1,100 meters), a Super Fragment Separator, various storage rings, numerous kilometres of beamlines, and experimental stations for research in nuclear and atomic physics, plasma physics, and materials science.
There are nine countries involved as shareholders in the project, with their contributions amounting to approximately €3.3 billion. The Accelerator Control System of FAIR is not a single product but an heterogeneous, distributed infrastructure for coordinating all components and subsystems of the facility over its full lifetime, which will span decades of scientific operation. [1], [2].
The full case study covers how the collaboration was structured, what was delivered across 12 work packages over 11 years, and three lessons that transfer to any large-facility controls programme.
Read more about Slovenia’s success in the FAIR project – Slovenia’s Success in FAIR Project – Cosylab
