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There are numerous engineering design problems where the use of wires to transfer power and communicate data thru the walls of a structure is prohibitive or significantly difficult that it may require a complex design.
Provide highly-regarded cellular, wireless and communications technical expertise, systems and environment to enable: Test & Demonstrate full scale wireless systems and equipment With and without controlled interference Terrestrial, Subterranean and Airborne Demonstrate new & emerging wireless technologies Develop and Train to Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) for wireless systems In a real world environment and configurations at real frequencies and real power levels
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This report summarizes the work performed within the Drop-C: The Drop-In, Ring-of-Power Heliostat project. The Drop-C project aimed to develop a novel heliostat with an installed cost of $\$50$/m 2 ($\$2015$) which is a drastic cost reduction compared to the state-of-the-art. The resulting 27m 2 SunRing TM heliostat’s relative small size necessitates the parallel development of a wireless solar field network and a rapid calibration system. The SunRing heliostat is an evolution of the Ring-of-Power (ROP) design from Abengoa Solar LLC which had a reported installed cost of $114/m 2 . Cost savings relative to the ROP were sought by increasing the mirror area, improving the structural efficiency, a more accurate assessment of wind loads, and an improved assembly and installation procedure. The project spanned three Budget Periods (BP) where a digital heliostat was developed in BP1 using wind tunnel testing to define load conditions.
The various technologies presented herein relate to waveguide dividers and waveguide combiners for application in radar systems, wireless communications, etc. Waveguide dividers-combiners can be manufactured in accordance with custom dimensions, as well as in accordance with waveguide standards such that the input and output ports are of a defined dimension and have a common impedance. Various embodiments are presented which can incorporate one or more septum(s), one or more pairs of septums, an iris, an input matching region, a notch located on the input waveguide arm, waveguide arms having stepped transformer regions, etc. The various divider configurations presented herein can be utilized in high fractional bandwidth applications, e.g., a fractional bandwidth of about 30%, and RF applications in the Ka frequency band (e.g., 26.5-40 GHz).
To address the concern for cellular phone electromagnetic interference to aircraft radios, a radiated emission measurement process was developed for two dominant digital standards of wireless handsets. Spurious radiated emissions were efficiently characterized from devices tested in either a semi-anechoic or reverberation chamber, in terms of effective radiated power. Eight representative handsets (four from each digital standard) were commanded to operate while varying their radio transmitter parameters (power, modulation, etc.). This report provides a detailed description of the measurement process and resulting data, which may subsequently be used by others as a basis of consistent evaluation of other portable transmitters using a variety of wireless transmission protocols. Aircraft interference path loss and navigation radio interference threshold data from numerous reference documents, standards, and NASA partnerships were compiled. Using these data, a preliminary risk assessment is provided for wireless phone interference to aircraft Localizer, Glideslope, Very High Frequency Omni directional Range, and Global Positioning Satellite radio receivers on typical transport airplanes. The report identifies where existing data for device emissions, interference path loss, and navigation radio interference thresholds need to be extended for an accurate risk assessment for wireless transmitters in aircraft.
Wireless access to data is a challenge for environments with poor radio frequency coverage such as nuclear power plants. An 802.11 Wi-Fi data network is often not a cost-effective solution not a cost-effective solution due to the requirement for extensive antenna outlays in large nuclear facilities and poor signal penetration due to thick concrete walls. Combining commercial Long-Term Evolution (LTE) with an existing distributed antenna system’s (DAS) resources and infrastructure is an attractive solution due to and lower cost of implementation and likely coverage increases. A 2017 technical report by EPRI has demonstrated that multiple systems such as Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and LTE can be operated using the same DAS and by sharing the leaky coaxial cabling and indoor antenna systems (Reference 1). Since the radio frequency (RF) bands used by the two wireless systems are specified to be non-overlapping, it is believed that the systems are isolated from each other. No extensive analysis has been conducted to determine whether RF signals from one system sharing antennas and coaxial cable can influence another. This paper investigates the assumption of isolation between the two wireless systems and provides recommendations for future needed work to identify specific vulnerabilities and potential mitigations.
Terahertz (THz) radiation detection by junctionless metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (JL MOSFETs) was studied and compared with THz detection using conventional MOSFETs. It has been shown that in contrast to the behavior of standard transistors, the junctionless devices have a significant responsivity also in the open channel (low resistance) state. The responsivity for a photolithographically defined JL FET was 70 V/W and the noise equivalent power 460 pW/√Hz. Working in the open channel state may be advantageous for THz wireless and imaging applications because of its low thermal noise and possible high operating speed or large bandwidth. It has been proven that the junctionless MOSFETs can also operate in a zero gate bias mode, which enables simplification of the THz array circuitry. Existing models of THz detection by MOSFETs were considered and it has been demonstrated that the process of detection by these junctionless devices cannot be explained within the framework of the commonly accepted models and therefore requires a new theoretical approach.
Sensors for improving building performance are rapidly populating the market, driven in part by the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy production as well as improve the interior environment for healthy and more productive spaces. UC Berkeley has led wireless sensor development over the past 25 years (e.g., Telos mote), with the Hamilton (named after Alexander Hamilton on the US $10 bill) as the most recent. The Hamilton sensor was designed as a low-cost high-performance sensor that is modular and interoperable. The objective of the Hamilton project was to create, evaluate and establish the technological foundations for secure and easy to deploy building energy efficiency applications utilizing pervasive, low-cost wireless sensors integrated with traditional Building Management Systems (BMS), consumer-sector building components, and powerful data analytics. The project included iterative hardware design, incorporating a high-performance database (BTrDb, http://btrdb.io/), creating and iterating the development of secure data middleware (BOSSwave, WAVE/WAVEMQ), working with and pushing the development of an open-source tiny operating system RiotOS, and implementing and improving protocols such as Thread/OpenThread and TCP/IP. The hardware benefited from careful design to drive down the cost; the design included a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), chip antenna, single crystal and five passive components. Careful design of the operating system created a low-power design to enable a long life with small batteries. The hardware included several sensors: temperature, radiant temperature, relative humidity, magnetometer, accelerometer, and light, with an optional occupancy (Passive InfraRed) sensor. The project was the basis of several applications, both internal to the research team and other researchers and professionals at other institutions. Several applications used the sensor hardware as the basis for other complex devices. Other applications used the sensors to improve building performance through interoperating with the building Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system, such as using occupancy and/or distributed temperature sensing to reduce HVAC zone energy while still providing thermal comfort and to reduce peak loads in small commercial buildings. We demonstrated cloud-based energy analytics, implemented a schedule and a Model Predictive Controller in a small commercial building to optimize HVAC energy, occupancy and electricity price. Initial integration of these technological innovations was performed through the creation of execution containers containing the WAVE agent and various driver, proxy, or building system function logic. The research added to the understanding of efficient sensor hardware, secure middleware, time-series data management (high performance database), efficient communication protocols, and interoperating with applications and building systems. The project showed the technical effectiveness and economic feasibility of creating a low-cost, modular, and easy-to-deploy sensor. Through conversations with multiple end users, the research team discovered that many customers wanted data management and services in addition to the sensors. HamiltonIOT developed packages of sensors, border router, and data services to provide a seamless “plug-and-play” sensor deployment. Some customers were willing to pay for higher quality sensors (such as light); some customers wanted a robust enclosure (waterproof).
As part of the Cyclotron Road program, the Oso Semiconductor project team investigated technological solutions to address the high cost and power consumption of phased array antennas. The power and cost for these antennas are greatly limiting growth for several high-impact wireless applications, such as: 5G, satellite communication, and radar sensing.
An examination of IEEE 802.11 wireless network performance within an aircraft fuselage is performed. This examination measured the propagated RF power along the length of the fuselage, and the associated network performance: the link speed, total throughput, and packet losses and errors. A total of four airplanes: one single-aisle and three twin-aisle airplanes were tested with 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g networks.
This report describes an unpowered radio receiver capable of detecting and responding to weak signals transmit ted from comparatively long distances . This radio receiver offers key advantages over a short range zero - power radio receiver previously described in SAND2004 - 4610, A Zero - Power Radio Receiver . The device described here can be fabricated as an integrated circuit for use in portable wireless devices, as a wake - up circuit, or a s a stand - alone receiver operating in conjunction with identification decoders or other electroni cs. It builds on key sub - components developed at Sandia National Laboratories over many years. It uses surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter technology. It uses custom component design to enable the efficient use of small aperture antennas. This device uses a key component, the pyroelectric demodulator , covered by Sandia owned U.S. Patent 7397301, Pyroelectric Demodulating Detector [1] . This device is also described in Sandia owned U.S. Patent 97266446, Zero Power Receiver [2].
Many regions of the world benefit from heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to provide productive, comfortable, and healthy indoor environments, which are enabled by automatic building controls. Due to climate change, population growth, and industrialization, HVAC use is globally on the rise. Unfortunately, these systems often operate in a continuous fashion without regard to actual human presence, leading to unnecessary energy consumption. As a result, the heating, ventilation, and cooling of unoccupied building spaces makes a substantial contribution to the harmful environmental impacts associated with carbon-based electric power generation, which is important to remedy. For our modern electric power system, transitioning to low-carbon renewable energy is facilitated by integration with distributed energy resources. Automatic engagement between the grid and consumers will be necessary to enable a clean yet stable electric grid, when integrating these variable and uncertain renewable energy sources. We present the WHISPER (Wireless Home Identification and Sensing Platform for Energy Reduction) system to address the energy and power demand triggered by human presence in homes. The presented system includes a maintenance-free and privacy-preserving human occupancy detection system wherein a local wireless network of battery-free environmental, acoustic energy, and image sensors are deployed to monitor homes, record empirical data for a range of monitored modalities, and transmit it to a base station. Several machine learning algorithms are implemented at the base station to infer human presence based on the received data, harnessing a hierarchical sensor fusion algorithm. Results from the prototype system demonstrate an accuracy in human presence detection in excess of 95%; ongoing commercialization efforts suggest approximately 99% accuracy. Using machine learning, WHISPER enables various applications based on its binary occupancy prediction, allowing situation-specific controls targeted at both personalized smart home and electric grid modernization opportunities.
The Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS), which is based upon the IEEE 802.16e mobile wireless standard, is expected to be implemented in the 5091 to 5150 MHz frequency band. As this band is also occupied by Mobile Satellite Service feeder uplinks, AeroMACS must be designed to avoid interference with this incumbent service. The aspects of AeroMACS operation that present potential interference are under analysis in order to enable the definition of standards that assure that such interference will be avoided. In this study, the cumulative interference power distribution at low Earth orbit from transmitters at global airports was simulated with the Visualyse Professional software. The dependence of the interference power on antenna distribution, gain patterns, duty cycle, and antenna tilt was simulated. As a function of these parameters, the simulation results are presented in terms of the limitations on transmitter power from global airports required to maintain the cumulative interference power under the established threshold.
This report details the demonstrated operation of a dual-ultrasonic link that transmits ultrasonic power through stainless steel of up to 36 inches in thickness, harvests and stores this energy, then uses it to transmit data back through the metal to be received and recorded externally. This exploratory demonstration funded by DOE office of Environmental Management shows a proof of principal for passing power and data through such things as vessel or container walls using ultrasonic techniques where direct access is impossible, without needing to use wireless technologies, magnetic fields, or optical access. This technology opens up the possibility of interrogating sensor systems placed within closed vessels, or pieces of industrial machinery without the need for wires, holes in the wall, or other intrusive means, and also without the need for batteries or other power source within the closed vessel.
Effective and secure carbon subsurface storage, involving the deep underground injection of CO 2 into geological formations where it is permanently trapped, is paramount to mitigating CO 2 emissions (Figure I). Ensuring the integrity of these storage sites and detecting potential leakage through the casing annulus necessitates robust monitoring. This work provides the first integrated demonstration of a wireless casing-annulus monitoring architecture that can operate in highly attenuating cement-brine environments relevant to CO 2 storage. This project focused on developing and validating a novel sensor system for integration with autonomous monitoring near the cement reservoir interface. The goal was a fully integrated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4/5 field validation of a distributed wireless intelligent sensor system providing real-time, direct subsurface formation measurements to enhance fluid movement monitoring in the cemented casing annulus. Achieving this objective required the development and integration of 1) wireless autonomous microsensor technology by California Institute of Technology (Caltech); 2) sensor packaging and emplacement technology by Research Triangle Institute (RTI); and 3) smart well completions using wireless active casing collars and NOV pipe by the Sandia National Lab (SNL). The collaboration with the Caltech team in this project aimed to develop millimeter-scale radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors capable of detecting CO 2 , pH, and/or methane levels. These sensors are engineered to be impervious to fluids, allowing them to be mixed with cement and installed within the casing annulus. They operate using RFID protocols at frequencies of 902–928 MHz for both power and communication. A Sandia National Laboratories’ team engaged their expertise in the development of a Smart Collar system designed for the wireless data collection from these RFID sensors embedded in the cement annulus and transmission of this information to the ground surface via IntelliPipe/IntelliServ NOV drill pipe. This is accomplished through inductive coupling at the collar, which facilitates data transfer through each segment of the pipe. Because the system cannot transmit a direct current signal to power the Smart Collar, both power and communication were implemented using alternating current and electromagnetic signals at varying frequencies. Furthermore, the developed microsensor technology had to be demonstrated and validated in comparison with reference transducer measurements in a field test site at The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). Although the full sensor suite did not reach field-deployment readiness, the system-level integration achieved in this project establishes a validated pathway for future incorporation of advanced microsensors.
Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) propose to demonstrate a wireless, high-temperature sensor system for monitoring the temperature and health of energy-system components. The active sensor and electronics for wireless communication will be composed entirely of an electroceramic materials (conductive ceramics) which are capable of withstanding the harsh-environments required for fossil energy-based technologies. This work will focus primarily on the fabrication and testing of temperature (thermocouples and thermistors) and health (strain/stress and crack propagation sensors) that function at extreme temperatures (up to 700-1700ºC). The electronics will accompany the high-temperature sensor, which will include a passive wireless communication circuit that allows the transmission of the data based on the LCR resonance principle to a near-by reader antenna. This passive transmission of data will reduce the need for interconnect wires near the active, and possibly rotating, energy-system component. The research will include process development to permit the 2D/3D direct-writing of the entire sensor and communication circuit onto the energy-system component. The direct-writing will be facilitated by using silicon-based polymer-derived precursors to form the high-temperature, stable electroceramic compositions. In addition, methods for direct-writing the circuit onto a fugitive carrier substrate will be completed, which will permit a “peel-and-stick”-like transfer of the sensor circuit to the energy-system component. This feature will allow the economical and precise placement of the sensor circuit onto components of various shapes and locations, without altering the geometry and active features of the manufactured component, or the removal (or decommissioning) of the component for installation. The proposed work will be directed at the following areas: 1) Investigation of phase formation, sintering/grain growth, and electrical properties of polymer-derived electroceramic composites; 2) Definition of processes to direct-write through ink-jet and robo-casting the polymer-derived electroceramic composites onto oxide and polymer surfaces; 3) Development of methods to form monolithic "peel-and-stick" preforms that will efficiently transfer the sensor circuit to ceramic surfaces after thermal treatment; 4) Design of passive wireless LCR circuits and receiver (reader) antennas for communication and testing at high temperatures; 5) Investigation of the passive wireless sensor system developed (and method of transferring sensor system) for temperature and stress/strain measurements on a SOFC repeat unit and a singular gas turbine blade prototype as example applications.