Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “sensor networks”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Emergency Radiation Dose Rate Monitoring During Prolonged Armed Conflict

The 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine has introduced unprecedented challenges for the nuclear power generation and radiological safety communities, including occupation and disturbance of highly-contaminated areas, occupation of a nuclear power plant, and strikes near and within boundaries of nuclear sites. The war has necessitated the implementation of a supplementary dose rate sensor network to provide resilient measurement data for public protection and leadership awareness. This paper discusses the implementation of such a system, the factors determining what equipment is best suited for the purpose, and practical factors regarding deployment of the system and data management. The crucial factors for operating a supplementary dose rate sensing network are backup power and communications options for dose rate sensors to make the network resilient to the effects of military operations. The most important implementation factor is to plan for extended operations beyond those typically considered for emergency response given the unpredictable nature of warfare.

resilience↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Synoptic System for Capturing Ecosystem Control Points Across Terrestrial‐Aquatic Interfaces

Interconnected landscape features such as terrestrial‐aquatic interfaces play an outsized role in biogeochemical cycles as ecosystem control points, but it is notoriously challenging to characterize these. Here, we document a synoptic sensor network design that is (a) flexible to accommodate diverse ecosystem interfaces and gradients, (b) adaptable to monitoring and modeling needs of small and large projects alike, (c) standardized for intercomparability across sites and field experiments, and (d) adequately replicated to capture heterogeneity of each parameter monitored. This real‐time monitoring of surface water, groundwater, soil, and vegetation supports configuration and evaluation of models that span upland, wetland, open water strata, and transitions between them. We established the network at seven sites along the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie coastlines, including large‐scale flood manipulation experiments in both regions. A central design element is “one data logger program to rule them all”—a collection of sensor‐specific modules deployed on 40 loggers controlling ∼2,000 sensors, with the goal of streamlining maintenance, debugging, and reproducible data processing. The network generates ∼6 M observations per month, capturing system dynamics at the broad spatial and fine temporal scales needed to initialize and benchmark models; measurement frequency can be modified remotely to capture events. This network design has also revealed behaviors not represented in Earth system models, such as transient groundwater oxygen pulses. Completely documented and open source, this standardized, flexible, and efficient sensor network design can reduce barriers to understanding environmental changes and ecosystem responses across systems and scales.

Ward, Nicholas D. [Pacific Northwest National Labo↗
DOE OSTI2025

Applying Transfer Learning for Street-Scale Nuisance Flood Forecasting in Coastal-Urban Cities

An important challenge with Machine Learning (ML) is its transferability; that is, whether a ML model trained on one set of data can be applied to a second set of data without requiring a full re-training of the model. Transfer Learning (TL) addresses this challenge by transferring knowledge learned in the source domain (the data it was trained on) to the target domain (a second set of data that is statistically different but related, which the model was not trained on). This study investigates the use of TL for street-scale nuisance flood forecasting by exploring whether a ML model trained on data collected for one set of streets can effectively forecast flooding for another set of streets in the same city using TL. The envisioned use case is a city deploying a new flood depth monitoring sensor on a street and using TL to apply a ML model, trained on sensor data from an existing flood depth sensor network, to this new street. Eventually, the new flood depth sensor will have a sufficient dataset for training its own ML model, but TL can be used to fill the gap in time while this new dataset is being generated. This method is explored using a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model trained on data for the flood-prone streets of Norfolk City, Virginia. The data used for training includes environmental time series (rainfall, tide), topographic features (Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), Depth To Water (DTW)), and street-scale flood depth time series obtained from a high-fidelity physics-based model, acting as a synthetic street-scale stream depth sensor dataset since actual stream depth sensor data is generally unavailable for most cities. A set of 180 flood-prone streets was used to train a base model, while another set of 180 flood-prone streets was used to re-train that model using different TL strategies. The results show that full-weight re-training proved most effective and minimal re-training of only the output layer was insufficient. The advantage of TL was most pronounced when target data was limited, meaning data collected at the new water depth sensor location included generally less than 18 flood events. As target data increased beyond 18 flood events, the benefit of TL diminished relative to training a ML model directly on the local flood events. These findings can assist cities as they implement street-scale flood sensing systems to create accurate forecasts for new sensing locations that do not yet have sufficient data records to train a local ML model.

Roy, Binata [Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, V↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hybrid classical-quantum communication networks

Over the past several decades, the proliferation of global classical communication networks has transformed various facets of human society. Concurrently, quantum networking has emerged as a dynamic field of research, driven by its potential applications in distributed quantum computing, quantum sensor networks, and secure communications. This prompts a fundamental question: rather than constructing quantum networks from scratch, can we harness the widely available classical fiber-optic infrastructure to establish hybrid quantum–classical networks? This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of ongoing research endeavors aimed at integrating quantum communication protocols, such as quantum key distribution, into existing lightwave networks. This approach offers the substantial advantage of reducing implementation costs by allowing classical and quantum communication protocols to share optical fibers, communication hardware, and other network control resources—arguably the most pragmatic solution in the near term. In the long run, classical communication will also reap the rewards of innovative quantum communication technologies, such as quantum memories and repeaters. Accordingly, our vision for the future of the Internet is that of heterogeneous communication networks thoughtfully designed for the seamless support of both classical and quantum communications.

Fiber-optic communication↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessing the limitations of commercial sensors and models for supporting marine carbon dioxide removal monitoring: a case study

Several unknowns remain surrounding marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) practices and capabilities. Current in-situ sensor technology is limited (primarily pH and pCO 2 ), requiring calculations and assumptions to estimate changes in carbonate chemistry parameters, including total alkalinity (TA). Considering that cost, energy consumption, and accuracy of commercial sensors can vary by orders of magnitude, understanding how well existing sensors perform in an mCDR context is important for this emerging community. Likewise, documenting sensor limitations and how relatively simple models can optimize sensor deployments will improve MRV efforts and support protocol development. Here we (1) compare performance a variety of commercially available sensors in a blind mesocosm experiment simulating ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), and how sensor performance impacted carbonate chemistry estimates; (2) evaluate if sensors can distinguish the OAE signal from natural variability during a small scale OAE field test in Sequim Bay, WA, USA, and (3) use an idealized ocean biogeochemistry model to explore optimal sensor network design based on (1) and (2). Our mesocosm results indicate that correctly constraining pH uncertainty will be critical for accurate TA estimates with current sensor technology compared to the less impactful variation caused by uncertainty in pCO 2 (pH data that are presented throughout are reported on the total scale (pH T ) unless otherwise noted). Our pilot field test demonstrated that sensors were capable of distinguishing mCDR signatures from natural variability under optimal real-world conditions. Idealized modeling simulations of the field test showed that a range of sparse and dense (3 to 100) sensors sampling areas of detectable increases will underestimate the net change in surface pH by at least 35–55%, at both realistic and highly elevated alkalinity input levels. We also highlight the limitations of current sensing technology for MRV, and the importance of ocean biogeochemistry models as critical tools for predicting when and where mCDR signals will be detectable using available sensors. Overall, our findings suggest that commercially available pCO 2 sensors and some pH sensors will form an important backbone for mCDR MRV tasks, though complete MRV characterization will require these data to be used in combination with other tools.

OAE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Lieb-Mattis States for Robust Entangled Differential Phase Sensing

We explore a two-node, entanglement-enhanced sensor network for differential phase sensing that exploits decoherence-free subspaces to suppress common-mode noise, a primary limitation of many state-of-the-art quantum sensors. We identify a class of entangled states that, while not strictly optimal, achieve the same asymptotic sensitivity scaling as optimal states and can be prepared efficiently from initially unentangled atomic ensembles. Importantly, the preparation time decreases with increasing system size, which makes the states compatible with realistic noise processes in present-day quantum sensors that operate with large particle numbers but lack full error correction. We illustrate these ideas using two cavity-mediated preparation protocols: (i) coherent, unitary entanglement generation analogous to bosonic two-mode squeezing, yielding Heisenberg scaling, and (ii) dissipative preparation through collective emission into a shared cavity mode, providing a square-root improvement beyond the standard quantum limit. Numerical simulations show that both approaches remain effective at experimentally realistic cavity cooperativities, establishing a practical path toward scalable, quantum-enhanced differential phase sensing.

Kaubruegger, Raphael [National Institute of Standa↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated Spatial, Spectral, & Temporal Optical Reflectance System for Precision Occupancy & Location Sensing to Improve Building Energy Efficiency

Buildings consume approximately 35% of the electricity used in the U.S. and building owners can significantly reduce this energy use by providing services like heating, electrical power and lighting only when people are present. The ARPAe funded program titled “INTEGRATED SPATIAL, SPECTRAL, & TEMPORAL OPTICAL REFLECTANCE SYSTEM FOR PRECISION OCCUPANCY & LOCATION SENSING TO IMPROVE BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY” demonstrates how a low cost sensor technology developed for measuring distances can be used to count and locate occupants with a high degree of precision with a very low error rates. This platform tells a building control system where occupants are located (but not who they are) so that energy consuming services can be provided only when the services are needed by building occupants. The original proof of concept involved using low cost, commercially available time-of-flight (TOF) sensors that measure distance, but the performance of these existing sensors was lacking, as they could not operate properly in the presence of sunlight, which blinded the simple TOF sensors and limited their utility in buildings. This project proposed a powerful new class of TOF sensors that used state-of-the-art integrated circuit (IC) fabrication processes that combined advanced photonics with conventional silicon chip circuitry for improved sensor performance. An equally important part of this project was to find ways to maximize occupant count and location accuracy while using the fewest number of sensors possible, in order to keep costs low. By using building blueprints to create digital twins of commercial building spaces, the team developed new algorithms to maximize occupant count and tracking accuracy by properly locating the minimum number of sensors at just the right spots in the building. This capability not only minimizes system costs but also simplified sensor installation and system commissioning. Our simulations of our sensor networks for a range of commercial floorplan designs demonstrated that our installed cost target of $0.08/sqft was attainable, though not fully demonstrated during the project. Finally, we noted that the TOF sensor concept could provide a valuable role in health and eldercare by tracking patients without the need for worn sensors and would be useful for fall detection and other patient safety metrics, including tracking healthcare/patient interactions. We feel that, when fully developed, this new class of sophisticated TOF sensors and support software will be a powerful new approach to improving building energy efficiency based on occupant centric control platforms and will also open new levels of patient safety in healthcare operations. To realize this potential, the team formed the Troy Sensor Company LLC to oversee licensing of the programs patents and continue to seek commercialization of this program’s activity sensing technologies.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laser-induced graphene gas sensors for environmental monitoring

Artemesia tridentatais a foundational plant taxon in western North America and an important medicinal plant threatened by climate change. Low-cost fabrication of sensors is critical for developing large-area sensor networks for understanding and monitoring a range of environmental conditions. However, the availability of materials and manufacturing processes is still in the early stages, limiting the capacity to develop cost-effective sensors at a large scale. In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of low-cost flexible sensors using laser-induced graphene (LIG); a graphitic material synthesized using a 450-nm wavelength bench top laser patterned onto polyimide substrates. We demonstrate the effect of the intensity and focus of the incident beam on the morphology and electrical properties of the synthesized material. Raman analyses of the synthesized LIG show a defect-rich graphene with a crystallite size in the tens of nanometers. This shows that the high level of disorder within the LIG structure, along with the porous nature of the material provide a good surface for gas adsorption. The initial characterization of the material has shown an analyte response represented by a change in resistance of up to 5% in the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted and detected byArtemisiaspecies. Bend testing up to 100 cycles provides evidence that these sensors will remain resilient when deployed across the landscapes to assess VOC signaling in plant communities. The versatile low-cost laser writing technique highlights the promise of low-cost and scalable fabrication of LIG sensors for gas sensor monitoring.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integrated Methane Monitoring Platform Design

This report presents design plans for integrated methane monitoring platforms for the oil and gas sector, which include satellites, aircrafts, drones, mobile platforms, open-path systems, sensor networks, LDAR techniques, and other systems.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stormwater Storage and Retention Within an Urban Prairie Wetland Complex

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of flooding in the Great Lakes region. In many cities, flood-control infrastructure is insufficient to protect against future climate conditions. Consequently, there is increasing focus on stormwater storage provided by urban greenspace, such as wetlands and prairies, but the ecohydrological behavior of these ecosystems is not well understood when they are embedded within cities. To improve understanding of hydrological connectivity between urban areas and natural greenspaces, we deployed a sensor network in Gensburg Markham Prairie (GMP), a large intact prairie-wetland complex in south suburban Chicago. We used the resulting high-frequency time-series data to assess surface-subsurface hydrologic dynamics between upland and low-lying wetland areas, interactions between the prairie and surrounding environment, and stormwater storage provided by the prairie. Rapid infiltration within the prairie during and after storm events provides subsurface flow that stores considerable water, flattens storm hydrographs, and increases the wetland hydroperiod. Much of the stormwater input to GMP derives from the surrounding cityscape. Consequently, storage within the prairie-wetland system reduces and slows stormwater discharge to downstream urban communities. For a typical 5-year 24-hr storm with 10.9 cm of rain, GMP stores 77,100 m 3 , 64% greater than the estimated direct rainfall volume onto the prairie, yielding 30,000 m 3 of offsite stormwater storage. This improved understanding of ecohydrological dynamics in urban prairies and wetlands informs the design and implementation of green infrastructure to meet growing needs for stormwater management.

Rivera, Vivien Anne [Northwestern University, Evan↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Comparison of Machine Learning Methods of Association Tested on Dense Nodal Arrays

The association of phase picks to form events is one of the fundamental components of seismology. Large and dense sensor networks, such as >1000 geophone arrays (and distributed acoustic sensing), offer unique challenges in association due to the vast numbers of observations and high likelihood of errant picks. In addition, the large number of stations can greatly increase the time it takes to perform the association. For this reason, machine learning (ML) methods might provide a more optimal method of association for such networks. In this work, we examine how well ML methods (e.g., Gaussian mixture model association, PhaseLink, and Graph Earthquake Neural Interpretation Engine) can incorporate dense seismic arrays into regional networks and how well they handle the increasing numbers of stations. Here, we test their capabilities on two dense seismic deployments, one within Rock Valley Nevada (52 nodes and a 9-station sparse local network), and the LArge-n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma dense nodal array (>1800 vertical-component geophones). Processing data from these two different styles of dense seismic deployments allows testing of how the ML algorithms can merge array data with a broader regional network, how they deal with poorly picked phases, and how they handle anthropogenic noise. We compare the ML-associated bulletins to those obtained using the Rapid Earthquake Association and Location algorithm, a more traditional method of association. We find that there are very small differences in results between the methods for small networks (<100 stations) with low pick rates. For large networks (>1000), there are enough errant picks that some of the ML methods start to create false events out of noise. We also find that the ML methods vary in computation time significantly but are all faster than the traditional method tested here.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

SRF-Based Quantum Transduction for Quantum Computing and Sensing

The next groundbreaking frontier in Quantum Information Science (QIS) is the development of low-noise interconnections over fiber optics between superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) quantum devices. High-efficiency microwave-optical transduction serves as a pivotal enabler for distributed quantum computing and sensor networks. This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of quantum transduction achieved by coupling SRF cavities to electro-optic optical resonators, enabling efficient conversion between microwave and optical photons. This research, supported by the DOE Early Career Research Program, advances technologies for quantum computing and sensing, and complements the mission of the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center at Fermilab.

Zorzetti, Silvia [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000023208338↗
DOE OSTI2025

Predicting Cislunar Orbit Lifetimes from Initial Orbital Elements

The volume of space between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit out to the Moon’s sphere of influence, including the lunar Lagrange points, is crucial for the successful planning and execution of space missions, but not fully understood dynamically. This region is a part of cislunar space. Trajectories through cislunar space are influenced by the gravitational forces of the Sun, Earth, Moon, and other Solar System planets leading to typically unpredictable and chaotic trajectory behavior. It is therefore difficult to predict the stability of an trajectory through cislunar space from a set of initial conditions or orbital elements. We simulate one million cislunar orbits to train a self-organizing map (SOM) to cluster the trajectories and orbits into families based on how long they remain stable within the cislunar space. Using the trained SOM, we are able to predict the stable lifetime of a trajectory through cislunar space from a set of initial orbital elements to within an accuracy of 10% for 8% of simulated trajectories and within 50% for 43% of the simulated trajectories. Clustering in the SOM suggests that a variety of trajectory morphologies have similar lifetimes. Once trained, the SOM can predict the stable lifetime of a given cislunar trajectory within milliseconds. The methods developed in this work enable the rapid identification of stable cislunar orbits and trajectories that could be used for future space exploration. Moreover, the developed SOM method can generate orbital and trajectory lifetime estimates from minimal observational data, such as a single two line element, making it useful for early warning systems and large-scale sensor network operations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Predicting cutoff L-shells of solar protons using the GPPSn particle dataset

Solar energetic protons (SEPs) arriving at the Earth trigger severe radiation storms in the near-Earth space, directly impacting space missions operating at various altitudes. Therefore, monitoring SEP events and predicting the penetration depths of solar protons are critical for aerospace sectors. Building on previous efforts, here we demonstrate the feasibility of using proton measurements from the Global Prompt Proton Sensor network (GPPSn), enabled by Los Alamos National Laboratory developed combined X-ray dosimeters aboard GPS satellites, to characterize and predict the penetration of solar protons into the geomagnetic field. The inclined medium-Earth-orbits (MEOs) of the global GPS constellation offer a unique advantage of allowing simultaneous measurements of penetrating solar protons inside both open- and closed-field line regions. Therefore, the L-profiles of ∼10s–100 MeV solar protons and their associated cutoff L-shells can be determined from the GPPSn dataset, using predefined threshold proton flux values rather than traditional flux ratios. After examining a list of SEP event intervals across solar cycles 23, 24 and 25—including the 2024 Mother’s Day superstorm, we showcase how the latest GPPSn proton dataset (release v1.10), reprocessed and calibrated, can not only be used to monitor solar proton distributions inside the dynamic geomagnetic field for individual events, but also to derive a new empirical model linking cutoff L-shells with several key space weather parameters. This newly developed SEPCL-MEO model demonstrates high predictive performance; for example, predictions for > 30 MeV solar protons yield a correlation coefficient of 0.85 and performance efficiency of 0.67 when validated against GPPSn observations. Results from this pilot study underscores the scientific and operational value of the GPPSn dataset, and this dataset—when paired with machine-learning techniques—can play a critical role in observing and predicting the effects of future incoming SEP events, including extreme ones.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantum-enhanced distributed phase sensing with a truncated SU(1,1) interferometer

In recent years, distributed quantum sensing has gained interest for a range of applications requiring networks of sensors, from global-scale clock synchronization to high energy physics. In particular, a network of entangled sensors can improve not only the sensitivity beyond the shot noise limit, but also enable a Heisenberg scaling with the number of sensors. Here, using bright entangled twin beams, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate the detection of a linear combination of two distributed phases beyond the shot noise limit with a truncated SU(1,1) interferometer. Specifically, we show a quantum noise reduction of 1.7 ± 0.3 dB below what is possible with the corresponding classical configuration. Additionally, we theoretically extend the use of a truncated SU(1,1) interferometer to a multi-phase-distributed sensing scheme that leverages entanglement as a resource to achieve a quantum improvement in the scaling with the number of sensors in the network. Our results pave the way for developing quantum-enhanced sensor networks that can achieve an entanglement-enhanced sensitivity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysis and optimization of seismic monitoring networks with Bayesian optimal experimental design

SUMMARY Monitoring networks increasingly aim to assimilate data from a large number of diverse sensors covering many sensing modalities. Bayesian optimal experimental design (OED) seeks to identify data, sensor configurations or experiments which can optimally reduce uncertainty and hence increase the performance of a monitoring network. Information theory guides OED by formulating the choice of experiment or sensor placement as an optimization problem that maximizes the expected information gain (EIG) about quantities of interest given prior knowledge and models of expected observation data. Therefore, within the context of seismo-acoustic monitoring, we can use Bayesian OED to configure sensor networks by choosing sensor locations, types and fidelity in order to improve our ability to identify and locate seismic sources. In this work, we develop the framework necessary to use Bayesian OED to optimize a sensor network’s ability to locate seismic events from arrival time data of detected seismic phases at the regional-scale. This framework requires five elements: (i) A likelihood function that describes the distribution of detection and traveltime data from the sensor network, (ii) A prior distribution that describes a priori belief about seismic events, (iii) A Bayesian solver that uses a prior and likelihood to identify the posterior distribution of seismic events given the data, (iv) An algorithm to compute EIG about seismic events over a data set of hypothetical prior events, (v) An optimizer that finds a sensor network which maximizes EIG. Once we have developed this framework, we explore many relevant questions to monitoring such as: how to trade off sensor fidelity and earth model uncertainty; how sensor types, number and locations influence uncertainty; and how prior models and constraints influence sensor placement.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Braxton Marlatt Intern Poster

The Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses a vast network of interconnected devices embedded with software, sensors, and network connectivity, enabling data collection and exchange. While IoT technology revolutionizes various industries, it also introduces significant security challenges. This research focuses on enhancing IoT security through the implementation of Zero Trust Architecture concepts, specifically targeting the Network and Device pillars of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Zero Trust Maturity Model. By generating Codified Attack Surfaces (CAS) using custom Structured Threat Information eXpression bundles, this project aims to provide enhanced visibility into network communications, detect vulnerabilities in device firmware, and improve the overall security posture for IoT devices and networks. The methodology involves defining custom STIX schema and objects, collecting data from intra-IoT traffic, external network traffic, and firmware analysis, and automating the conversion and correlation of this data into STIX bundles. The automated generation of attack surfaces offers comprehensive insights into activity, vulnerabilities, and anomalies within an IoT environment, enabling proactive threat identification and mitigation.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗