IDM UID

2UT8SH
VERSION CREATED ON / VERSION / STATUS

10 Mar 2011 / 7.4 / APPROVED

EXTERNAL REFERENCE

How To

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming

Convention
Plant system instrumentation and control (I&C) design requires the application of a naming
convention for signals for piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&ID) and electrical
diagrams.
In addition, a naming convention for plant system I&C variables is needed for user software
engineering, CODAC functions concerning control, mimics and more generally, the human
machine interface (HMI). This document presents a naming convention applicable
for both I&C signals and variables.

Approval Process
Name Action Affiliation
Author Journeaux J.- Y. 10-Mar-2011:signed IO/DG/DIP/CHD/CODAC/CDC
CoAuthor
Reviewers Klotz W.- D. 15-Mar-2011:recommended IO/DG/DIP/CHD/CODAC
Wallander A. 13-Mar-2011:recommended IO/DG/DIP/CHD/CODAC/CDC
Approver Bora D. 18-Mar-2011:approved IO/DG/DIP/CHD
Document Security: level 1 (IO unclassified)
RO: Journeaux Jean-Yves
Read Access AD: ITER, AD: External Collaborators, AD: Section - CODAC, project administrator, RO, LG: CODAC
team

PDF generated on 18-Mar-2011

 Change Log
Version Latest Status Date Description of Change
v7.4 Approved 10 Mar 2011 Minor changes on a reference doc version number and a figure not well
formatted in the pdf file.
v7.3 Approved 08 Feb 2011 Version after PCDH v6 external review
v7.2 Signed 05 Jan 2011 J Poole review
v7.1 Signed 03 Jan 2011 New version to be reviewed in scope of PCDH v6.
v7.0 Signed 03 Jan 2011 New version to be reviewed in scope of PCDH v6.
v6.0 Signed 10 Sep 2010 Introduction of the FBS for variable naming
v5.1 Approved 29 Jan 2010 Update after PCDH v5.0 review
v5.0 Signed 29 Jan 2010 Update after PCDH v5 review
v4.0 Signed 28 Jan 2010 PCDH v5 review included
v3.0 Signed 28 Jan 2010 Official PCDH v5 review outcomes included

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v2.3 Approved 07 Oct 2009 Final version ready for approval
v2.2 Signed 02 Oct 2009 Final version without markup. No significative change with respect to previous
one
v2.1 Signed 18 Sep 2009 Update after last? CODAC team review. ready for final check by IO
IO comments pushed in
https://user.iter.org/?uid=2W3A4Y&action=get_document
v2.0 Signed 17 Sep 2009 New version after IO review
v1.5 Signed 26 Aug 2009 Version ready to be reviewed by IO
v1.4 Signed 26 Aug 2009 Version ready to be reviewed by IO
v1.3 Signed 25 Aug 2009 Comments from CODAC team taken in account. Version ready to be reviewed
by IO
v1.2 Signed 25 Aug 2009 Comments from CODAC team taken in account. Version ready to be reviewed
by IO
v1.1 Signed 24 Aug 2009 Comments received on 24th of August taken in account
v1.0 In Work 17 Aug 2009

PDF generated on 18-Mar-2011

 Records of revisions
Revision Date Description Modified Pages
0 25/08/2009 First draft -

1 30/07/2009 Version after CODAC review for PCDH v5 all

2 16/09/2009 First IO review all

3 07/10/2009 Version ready for approval by PDDG for PCDH v5 1

4 25/01/2010 Second IO review all

5 16/08/2010 Clarification of component, signal and PVs, Section 2.1

Introduction of FBS.
Signal naming convention kept unchanged.
Definition of a new PV naming Section 2.3
6 10/09/2010 CODAC internal review, see review form all
PV replaced by variable to keep generic
7.1 10/11/2010 Update after IO review all

7.2 05/01/2011 J Poole review all

7.3 08 Feb 2011 Version after PCDH v6 external review Cover page

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention Page 1 of 13

 TABLE of CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................3
1.1. PCDH context............................................................................................................3
1.2. Document scope ......................................................................................................3
1.3. Document identifiers...............................................................................................4
1.4. Topics remaining to be addressed......................................................................4
1.5. Review, validation and thanks..............................................................................4
1.6. Acronyms ...................................................................................................................5
1.7. Related documents..................................................................................................5
2. NAMING CONVENTIONS................................................................................................6
2.1. I&C components, Signals and Variables ...........................................................6
2.2. Component identifiers ............................................................................................8
2.3. Signal identifiers ......................................................................................................9
2.4. Function identifiers .................................................................................................9
2.5. Variable identifier ...................................................................................................10
3. ANNEXES .........................................................................................................................11
3.1. ISA-5.1-1984 (R1992) Standard Application to ITER AAAA Identifiers....11
3.2. ITER SSS identifiers for signals.........................................................................13
3.3. Other applicable rules ..........................................................................................13

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 2 of 14
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. PCDH context
The Plant Control Design Handbook (PCDH) [RD1] defines methodology, standards, specifications and
interfaces applicable to ITER Plant Systems Instrumentation & Control (I&C) system life cycle. I&C
standards are essential for ITER to:
• Integrate all plant systems into one integrated control system.
• Maintain all plant systems after delivery acceptance.
• Contain cost by economy of scale.
PCDH comprises a core document which presents the plant system I&C life cycle and recaps the main
rules to be applied to the plant system I&Cs for conventional controls, interlocks and safety controls.
Some I&C topics will be explained in greater detail in dedicated documents associated with PCDH as
presented in Figure 1. This document is one of them.

PCDH core and satellite documents: v6

INTERLOCK CONTROLS
Guidelines for the design of the PIS (3PZ2D2)
PIS, PS I &C and CIS integration
Guidelines for PIS configuration
Management of local interlock functions
Management of interlock data
PS CONTROL DESIGN
Plant system I &C architecture (32GEBH)
Methodology for PS I &C specifications (353AZY)
CODAC Core System Overview (34SDZ5)
I&C CONVENTIONS
I&C Signal and variable naming (2UT8SH)
ITER CODAC Glossary (34QECT)
ITER CODAC Acronym list (2LT73V)

PS SELF DESCRIPTION DATA

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY CONTROLS
Core PCDH (27LH2V) Self description schema documentation (34QXCP)
Rules and guidelines for PSS design
Plant system control philosophy
Plant system control Life Cycle PS CONTROL INTEGRATION
NUCLEAR PCDH (2YNEFU)
Plant system control specifications The CODAC -PS Interface (34V362)
CODAC interface specifications PS factory acceptance plan (3VVU9W)
CATALOGUES for PS CONTROL
Interlock I&C specification ITER alarm system management (3WCD7T)
Slow controllers products (333J33)
Safety I&C specification ITER operator user interface ( 3XLESZ)
Fast controller products (345X28)
Guidelines for archiving
Cubicle products (35LXVZ)
Specifications for HPN
Network products
Specifications for time stamping

PS CONTROL DEVELOPMENT
I&C signal interface (3299VT) TEMPLATES and ILLUSTRATIONS Legend
PLC software engineering handbook (3QPL4H) CWS case study specifications (35W299) This document
Guidelines for fast controllers (333K4C) LCC and SCC prototypes Available and approved
CODAC software development environment (2NRS2K) PS simulators : slow, fast, interlocks Expected
Guidelines for signal conditioning
( XXXXXX) IDM ref.
Guidelines for I &C cubicle configurations

Figure 1: PCDH documents structure

1.2. Document scope

A naming convention has been set up and is already applicable for ITER components. The plant
system’s I&C includes I&C components which must be named accordingly.
In addition, because signals and variables of the plant system I&C cannot be identified by the
component naming convention alone (a controller, sensor and actuator may be connected to several
signals) the need arises for a convention tailored to signal and variables specificities.
This document proposes a naming convention for signals linked to ITER components as well as for
variables implemented by the plant system’s controllers.

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 3 of 14
 1.3. Document identifiers
Table 1 provides the full list of document identifiers used in this document. The recommendations
raised in this document as for the other PCDH satellite documents are mainly guidelines; some are
rules and in such a case they are identified by a star symbol.
As a general rule, the release of this document, like all the documents associated with PCDH
mentioned in Figure 1, will be followed by an immediate update of the core PCDH so that the core
PCDH is a single document containing all the mandatory rules applicable to plant system I&C. In this
way it will be easier for the user to understand the requirements.
Table 1: Paragraph identifiers
AD Applicable Document
GL Glossary item
RD Reference Document
 Rules referenced in core PCDH

1.4. Topics remaining to be addressed

The details of the of the following topics will be addressed in the next version of this document
 Standard variable names dedicated to standard functions (controller monitoring, .)
 Standard variable names for plant wide data.

1.5. Review, validation and thanks

It is proposed that this document is reviewed with the following objectives:
 Check compliance with ITER needs and configuration.
 Check impact on manufacturing and technical optimisation.
As a reference document associated with PCDH, the validation process of this document is similar to
that of the core PCDH, involving the I&C IPT team and other IO people involved in I&C activities.
Thanks to the people who take the time for this review.

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 4 of 14
 1.6. Acronyms
The Table 1 shows the acronyms used in this document. This table includes relevant acronyms which
have been extracted from PCDH.

Acronym Item
CHD CODAC & IT, Heating & Current Drive, Diagnostics
CODAC COntrol, Data Access and Communication
FBS Functional Breakdown Structure
HMI Human Machine Interface
I&C Instrumentation & Control
I/O Input / Output
IO ITER Organization
IPT Integrated Product Team
ISA Instrumentation Symbols and Identification
NA Not applicable
P&ID Process and Instrumentation Diagram
PBS Plant Breakdown Structure
PCDH Process Control Design Handbook
PFD Process Flow Diagram
PSH Plant System Host
RO Responsible Officer
TBC To Be Confirmed
TBD To Be Defined
Table 1: Abbreviations and Acronyms

1.7. Related documents

[RD1] Plant Control Design Handbook (PCDH). (ITER_D_27LH2V)
[RD2] Functional Breakdown Structure for ITER (43RRBR)
[RD3] ITER Numbering System for Parts/Components (ITER_D_28QDBS)
[RD4] ISA-5.1-1984 (R1992) standard for instrumentation symbols and identification.
[RD5] Plant System I&C Architecture (ITER_D_32GEBH)

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 5 of 14
 2. NAMING CONVENTIONS
2.1. I&C components, Signals and Variables
Some definitions:
- A signal is an analogue or binary state or command information that comes on a physical medium
from/to a plant system sensor or actuator to/from a control system signal interface or controller.
- I&C components include sensors, actuators, controllers, servers, any central CODAC equipment
and the associated software for all this equipment.
- I&C cables may be signal cables, field-bus cables or network cables. They may be copper or
optical fibre. A signal cable may carry either analogue or digital signals. An I&C component may
generate or use one or many signals.
- Variables are digitized representations of signals or representations of properties related to or
derived from signals. Once signals have been digitized in a signal interface, the I&C controllers
work with variables.
- I&C functions manipulate controller variables and are implemented by controllers.

All of the entities listed above need to be named. The ITER component naming convention [RD2]
applies for physical items: components and cables. A naming convention is also required for variables.
This document discusses both signal naming (Section 2.3) and variable naming (Section 2.5).

I&C components and I&C signals:

The Figure 2 illustrates the components involved in a simple example of physical architecture from the
plant system sensors and actuators to the central CODAC system. See [RD5] for additional details.

Figure 2: I&C architecture with I&C components

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 6 of 14
 From signals to controller variables:
Controller CPU

Signal interface

Signal
Variable
Signal cable
conditionner
Signal Signal
P

PS sensor/
actuator
Figure 3: Conversion of I&C signals to controller variables

In the model of conversion presented in Fig. 3, the Input/Output boards of the controllers are acting as
converters from signals to variables:
 The common model of conversion is: one signal = one process data = one variable to carry the
data.
 Some I&C signals carry multiplexed data. In such a configuration the model becomes: one
signal = several process data = several variables.

In this section, we make the distinction between “signals” and “variables,” and define the “signal
interface” (the point where analogue signals are digitized) as the point at which a signal becomes a
variable. A different naming convention is proposed for signals and variables. The convention for
signals is already defined. It is:

 Signal Name = Component Identifier : Signal Identifier

The Component Identifier is based upon the Plant Breakdown Structure (PBS) and the rules for forming
component names are reviewed in Section 2.2 below. Rules for forming the Signal Identifier are
reviewed in Section 2.3.
By analogy, the proposed convention for naming variables is:

 Variable Name = Function Identifier : Variable Identifier

The Function Identifier is based on a Functional Breakdown Structure (FBS) and the rules for forming
function names are given in Section 2.4. Rules for forming the Variable Identifier are given in Section
2.5.

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 7 of 14
 2.2. Component identifiers
A convention for uniquely identifying parts and components for ITER is defined in the ITER Numbering
System for Parts/Components, see [RD3].
 This naming convention is applicable to any component of the plant system I&C.
This reference consists of three identifiers separated by the separator (hyphen “-“):
- Plant Breakdown Structure (PBS) Identifier: PPPPPP;
- Component functional category designator: TTT;
- Sequential Number: NNNN.
Therefore, the format of any ITER component name is:
PPPPPP-TTT-NNNN.
The PBS Identifier (PPPPPP) identifies the plant system PBS level 3 to which the component belongs.
The Function Category Designator (TTT) designates the type of component and belongs to the list of
types defined in the ITER Function Category and Type of [RD3].
 The Sequential Number (NNNN) shall be allocated by IO so that the complete identifier (PPPPPP-
TTT-NNNN) is unique within the whole ITER plant.

26CCC1-MP-0010 26PHDL-VC-0001 T 26PHDL-MT-0015

P

26PHDL-VC-0002

26PHDL-HX-0001

PPPPPP identifiers
- Cooling water plant system: 26 TTT identifiers
- PHTS water loops: 26.PH - Heat exchanger: HX
- Divertor/limitor loop: 26.PH.DL - Valve: VC
PPPPPP = 26PHDL - T sensor: MT
- Component cooling water: 26.CC - P sensor: MP
- CCWS1 water loop: 26.CC.C1
PPPPPP = 26CCC1

Figure 4: Illustration of component naming applied to plant system equipment involving components
from different PBS

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 8 of 14
 2.3. Signal identifiers
Plant system I&C design requires a naming convention for signals to be applied in P&ID, and electrical
diagrams etc.
 Any I&C signal name is made of two identifiers separated by a colon “:”. The first is the identifier of
the component producing the signal; the second is the identifier of the signal within the component.
 The component naming convention, as defined in the previous section, applies to the component
identifier.
The signal identifier shall satisfy the following naming convention:
 The signal identifier is made of three parts.
- The first part AAAA identifies the sensor/actuator class using the ISA-5.1-1984 (R1992)
standard for instrumentation symbols and identification, see [RD4] for details.
- The second part RRRR is optional and used to identify several sensors/actuators of the same
class within the component.
- The third part SSS is used to identify the signal type, see Table 4 for details.
The format of the suffix is then: AAAA[RRRR]-SSS, RRRR being an alpha-numeric string of maximum 4
characters and SSS an alphabetic string of 3 characters introduced by a hyphen “-”.
Therefore the signal name format is:

PPPPPP-TTT-NNNN:AAAA[RRRR]-SSS

AAAA identifiers :
- FCVY: Flow control valve state signal SSS identifiers :
- FCVZ: Flow control command signal - CRC: Conventional raw standard signal
- TT: Temperature signal

Command: 26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVZ-CRC 26PHDL-MT-0002

State1: 26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVY1-CRC T Temperature sensor signal:

26PHDL-MT-0002:TT-CRC
State2: 26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVY2-CRC

26PHDL-VC-0001

Figure 5: Illustration of I&C signal naming.

2.4. Function identifiers

A Functional Breakdown System (FBS) is defined for the whole ITER plant. See [RD2].
 The plant system function identifier shall be based upon a Functional Breakdown Structure (FBS)
and satisfy the following naming convention:
- Within each hierarchical FBS level, a plant system function is identified by an alpha-numeric
string of maximum 4 characters: FFFF. This string identifier shall be unique within the FBS level
concerned, and mnemonic names are recommended (e.g. DIAG for PBS55, MAG for PBS11,
CWS for PBS26.).
- The full plant system function name consists of all required function identifiers separated by the
separator (hyphen “-“).

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 9 of 14
 Therefore the plant system function format is: FFFF-FFFF-FFFF for a level 3 function.

2.5. Variable identifier

The variable name format is: Function Identifier : Variable Identifier
 The variable identifier is a free string of 16 characters maximum VV…VV, provided the full name
including the function identifier is unique within the whole ITER plant.
Therefore, the variable name format is:
FFFF-…….FFFF: VV….VV
For variables directly reflecting data from I&C signals, it is recommended but not mandatory that the
variable Identifier VV….VV would satisfy the following naming convention:
- The variable Identifier is made of two parts separated by the separator (hyphen “-“):
- The first part is the component identifier described in section 2.2, but without the PBS reference
PPPPPP.
- The second part is the signal identifier as mentioned in section 2.3, but without the SSS suffix
for signal type.
Thus the complete variable identifier format would be: TTTNNNN-AAAA[RRRR] for signal variable.

Figure 6 illustrates a possible functional breakdown structure for the Cooling Water System (CWS) and
an example of the conversion of signal names to variable names taken from that illustration.

Figure 6: Example of functional breakdown for a water cooling loop

FBS
26PHDL-HT-0001

26PHDL-VC-0009 26PHDL-VC-0010
P-100

F
Client 1
26PHDL-VC-0002

CWS T
T
T

I-56
F 26PHDL-VC-0011 26PHDL-VC-0012

Client 2
26PHDL-VC-0008
26PHDL-PL-0001 26PHDL-VC-0004 26PHDL-VC-0013 26PHDL-VC-0014
CCWS1

P-111
Client 3
GN2
26PHDL-VC-0001 L
gas
supply
F P
26PHDL-VC-0005

26PHDL-HX-0001

26PHDL-PZ-0001
T

26PHDL-VC-0003

PHTS XXXX
26PHDL-VC-0007 26PHDL-VC-0006

Water storage and

treatment CVCS

DLHT XXXX

Signals
26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVZ-CRC
26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVY1-CRC
26PHDL-VC-0001:FCVY2-CRC
26PHDL-MT-0002:TT-CRC
Figure 7: Example of variable naming using the FBS and the signal names
Remote IO
variables
CWS-PHTS-DLHT:VC1-FCVZ
CWS-PHTS-DLHT:VC1-FCVY1
CWS-PHTS-DLHT:VC1-FCVY2
Signal cable CWS-PHTS-DLHT:MT2-TT

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 10 of 14
 3. ANNEXES
3.1. ISA-5.1-1984 (R1992) Standard Application to ITER AAAA
Identifiers
The following table proposes examples of the application of the ISA standard for instrumentation
signals.
During plant system design I&C ROs will propose additions and this table will be extended in order to
obtain an ITER plant-wide standard for AAAA identifiers. These proposals for new AAAA identifiers will
be reviewed and maintained by the I&C IPT in the document [RD4].
AAAA Designation Comment
identifier
AT Audio/Analysis transmitter A letter is dedicated to analysis in ISA, Audio comes in addtition
CY Contactor state
CZ Contactor command
ET Voltage transmitter
FCVZ Flow Control Valve command Progressive control
FT Flow transmitter
FVY Flow valve state
FVZ Flow valve command Logic control
IT Current transmitter
LCVZ Level Control Valve command Progressive control
LT Level transmitter
MXT X axis moment transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
MYT Y axis moment transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
MZT Z axis moment transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
OT Video transmittter O letter is up to user choice in ISA
PCVZ Pressure Control Valve command Progressive control
PT Pressure transmitter
RT Radiation transmitter
ST Speed transmitter
TCVZ Temperature control valve command Progressive control
TT Temperature transmitter
VT Vibration transmitter
WXT X axis force transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
WYT Yaxis force transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
WZT Z axis force transmitter Compliant to ISA standard
YT State transmitter
ZT Position transmitter
Table 2: AAAA identifier table

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 11 of 14
Letter Variable Modifier 1 Function Output Modifier 2
A Analysis Alarm
B User's Choice User's Choice User's Choice
C Contactor Control
D User's Choice Differential
E Voltage Sensor (Primary
Element)
F Flow Rate Ratio (Fraction)
G User's Choice Glass, Viewing
Device
H Hand High
I Current Indicate
(Electrical)
J Power Scan
K Time, Time Time Rate of Control Station
Schedule Change
L Level Light Low
M User's Choice Momentary Middle,
Intermediate
N User's Choice User's Choice User's Choice User's Choice
O User's Choice Orifice, Restriction
P Pressure, Point (Test)
Vacuum Connection
Q Quantity Integrate,
Totalize
R Radiation Record
S Speed, Safety Switch
Frequency
T Temperature Transmit
U Multivariable Multifunction Multifunction Multifunction
V Vibration, Valve, Damper,
Mechanical Louvre
Analysis
W Weight, Force Well
X Unclassified X Axis Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified
Y Event, State or Y Axis Relay,
Presence Compute,
Convert
Z Position, Z Axis Driver,
Dimension Actuator,
Table 3: Table of translation of alphabetic letters to I&C functions according to the ISA standard.
(some user chosen letters are already assigned, e.g. C for Contactor)

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 12 of 14
 3.2. ITER SSS identifiers for signals
The first S character is related to the signal importance: it shall be selected from C, I and S only; for
Conventional, Interlock, and Safety signals.
The two other S characters are related to metadata for signal properties. Table 4 provides a first draft:
this table will be extended following proposals from plant system I&C ROs during plant system design in
order to get a plant-wide ITER standard for SSS identifiers. These proposals for new SSS identifiers will
be reviewed and maintained by the I&C IPT in the document [RD4].

SS Designation Comment
CC Conditioned standard signal Refer to PCDH for standard and conditioned
RC Raw (not conditioned) standard signal signal definitions
RL Raw (not conditioned) low level (not standard)
signal
TBD TBD
Table 4: Table of SS identifiers

Examples:
 CCC designates a conventional conditioned standard signal.
 CRC designates a conventional raw standard signal.
 IRC designates an interlock raw standard signal.

3.3. Other applicable rules

 Any alphabetic character used in names shall be in upper case.
Additional rules may apply depending on the software which the variables and signal names are
referenced in. These rules will be detailed in specific software engineering documents attached to core
CODAC documents or to PCDH.

Signal and plant system I&C Variable Naming Convention v7.3 Page 13 of 14