Enhancing Data Acquisition and Fault Analysis for Large-Scale Facilities: A Case Study on the Laser-Based Synchronization System at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser

The laser-based synchronization system of the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser is responsible for precisely synchronizing various components within the large scale facility. It comprises several embedded components that are directly connected to the accelerator control system. In this study, we introduce a data acquisition system, which is integrated into the control system and builds the base for data-driven root cause analysis and predictive maintenance. To optimize the data retrieval process, we extended the existing data acquisition system by a lightweight database system based on Apache Parquet. This extension significantly enhances the data readout speed by a factor of 2000, enabling efficient processing of operation-critical data. Additionally, we present a user-friendly dashboard that visualizes the operation-critical data, allowing for intuitive monitoring and analysis. Moreover, an unsupervised fault detection pipeline is created, capable of identifying faults retrospectively. Further validation through extensive real-world testing and deployment in daily operations is essential to ascertain the reliability and effectiveness of the integrated solution. This study serves as a foundation for future research and development efforts in optimizing and automating data acquisition and fault diagnosis methodologies for large-scale complex facilities, enhancing their robust performance and ensuring operational reliability.

Subjects

Anomaly Detection

Dashboard

Data Acquisition

Large-Scale Data Management

Options

Enhancing Data Acquisition and Fault Analysis for Large-Scale Facilities: A Case Study on the Laser-Based Synchronization System at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser