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At least 1,207 records · Page 67

The Role of Regional Connections in Planning for Future Power System Operations Under Climate Extremes

Identifying the sensitivity of future power systems to climate extremes must consider the concurrent effects of changing climate and evolving power systems. We investigated the sensitivity of a Western U.S. power system to isolated and combined heat and drought when it has low (5%) and moderate (31%) variable renewable energy shares, representing historic and future systems. We used an electricity operational model combined with a model of historically extreme drought (for hydropower and freshwater-reliant thermoelectric generators) over the Western U.S. and a synthetic, regionally extreme heat event in Southern California (for thermoelectric generators and electricity load). We found that the drought has the highest impact on summertime production cost (+10% to +12%), while temperature-based deratings have minimal effect (at most +1%). The Southern California heat wave scenario impacting load increases summertime regional net imports to Southern California by 10-14%, while the drought decreases them by 6-12%. Combined heat and drought conditions have a moderate effect on imports to Southern California (-2%) in the historic system and a stronger effect (+8%) in the future system. Southern California dependence on other regions decreases in the summertime with the moderate increase in variable renewable energy (-34% imports), but hourly peak regional imports are maintained under those infrastructure changes. By combining synthetic and historically driven conditions to test two infrastructures, we consolidate the importance of considering compounded heat wave and drought in planning studies and suggest that region-to-region energy transfers during peak periods are key to optimal operations under climate extremes.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Using NASA's Giovanni Web Portal to Access and Visualize Satellite-based Earth Science Data in the Classroom

One of the biggest obstacles for the average Earth science student today is locating and obtaining satellite-based remote sensing data sets in a format that is accessible and optimal for their data analysis needs. At the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES-DISC) alone, on the order of hundreds of Terabytes of data are available for distribution to scientists, students and the general public. The single biggest and time-consuming hurdle for most students when they begin their study of the various datasets is how to slog through this mountain of data to arrive at a properly sub-setted and manageable data set to answer their science question(s). The GES DISC provides a number of tools for data access and visualization, including the Google-like Mirador search engine and the powerful GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni) web interface.

Lloyd, Steven↗

Emulation Framework for Distributed Large-Scale Systems Integration

Recent trends in systems engineering include integration of very large-scale systems, which entails significant challenges when they are geographically dispersed. In these scenarios, intelligent integration of distributed large-scale systems requires significant coordination among hardware elements as well as all software components. The approach of integrated systems (both computing platform and experimental equipment) for end-to-end orchestration is called federation. Virtual frameworks can aid in the testing, assessment, and implementation of a functional system of interconnected resources. We present an emulation framework that replicates the software environments of multi-site federations of computing systems and instruments. Our emulation framework allows systems engineers to reduce developmentcost and avoid disruptions to production infrastructure. Our framework was effectively used to develop and test software modules for various tasks including container orchestration and instrument access. For performance assessment, however, the emulated framework is severely limited in providing accurate network and IO measurements at 10 Gbps and higher data rates. The data transfer performance profiles estimated using these emulated measurements are usually inaccurate for high bandwidth and high latency connections, since emulation does not accurately reflect the critical network transport dynamics.We utilize measurements from a physical testbed with hardware network emulators to obtain data transfer profiles that closely match the expected profiles for the emulated federations. We show the effectiveness of our approach by an illustrative example of integrated (federated) multi-site ultra large-scale systems that are connected via high speed wide area networks.

Imam, Neena↗

Reducing Uncertainty of Fielded Photovoltaic Performance (Final Technical Report)

Improved analysis and reporting of photovoltaic (PV) field performance increases the certainty of owners and financiers that systems will perform as expected. Advanced module technologies (e.g., PERC, HJT, and bifacial) introduce new degradation mechanisms and performance characteristics. The FY19-21 Reducing Uncertainty project leveraged data from the ever-increasing PV fleet to develop models and understanding of the field performance of existing and new technologies. Specifically, we accomplished: report on field performance and degradation rates for high-efficiency silicon (HJT, PERC, IBC) and more conventional technologies; developed automated analysis techniques to quantify system performance (performance ratio, energy yield) and production shortfalls (soiling, degradation, availability); refined the RdTools software toolkit to bring standard, validated analysis techniques to bear on third-party data; analyzed and reported on large datasets including Treasury data and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Utility-Scale dataset to expand the high-quality degradation-rate histogram published previously; worked with industry partners and the DuraMAT data hub to enable private parties to share and aggregate PV production data anonymously, leveraging cloud-based data analysis infrastructure and publishing on US fleet-scale performance comprising over 7GW of operating systems. (https://www.nrel.gov/pv/fleet-performance-data-initiative.html). Through our industry collaborations we have engaged in NDA-covered data transfer with twelve PV fleet owners as of January 2022, with more agreements in negotiation. Our scalable cloud-based time series database contains over 30 billion rows (20TB) of PV time series data, representing over 1700 commercial and utility-scale systems, and over 7.2 GW of DC capacity (Fig 1). Initial field performance results have been distributed in several public reports. Because our fleet composition and data quality methods are continually improving, annual updates to these results are published to our PV Fleet webpage [ https://www.nrel.gov/pv/fleet-performance-data-initiative.html ] and DuraMAT data hub [DOI: 10.21948/1842958]. Another existing dissemination channel used for observed soiling losses is a map we maintain for soiling losses. Additional products developed include a report detailing fleet-wide performance index, availability, startup loss and snow loss factors, a detailed report on the 1603 grant dataset comprising over 100,000 PV systems with failure and performance details and a utility-scale report coauthored with LBNL on 31 GW of system performance.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

eMosaic: Electrification Mosaic Platform for Grid Informed Smart Charging Management (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

ABB (Prime Contractor), in collaboration with its partners at the Utah State University (USU), Idaho National Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), and Electric Power Engineers (EPE), have performed research, development, and wide scale demonstration of a scalable and resilient Electrification Mosaic (eMosaic) platform for Smart Charge Management (SCM) for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure. Work was completed under DE EE0009194, titled “eMosaic Electrification Mosaic Platform for Grid Informed Smart Charging Management”, funded by the US Department of Energy. The project members developed algorithms that provide localized and bulk grid services and that reduce and stabilize costs all the way down the supply chain to the PEV owner through SCM. This platform aggregates telemetry from multiple data sources as pieces of the larger picture including personal, private fleet or transportation EVs, fast chargers and other supply equipment, weather service information, and geographically distributed charging sites such as public lots, garage and retail, and private or shared usage depots. ABB and the project team designed, tested, and improved a charging management system at local/edge and cloud levels. The ultimate objective of the project was to convincingly demonstrate that the developed secure eMosaic plat-form can be readily and favorably adopted by diverse utilities and site owners at scale. This was achieved through a demonstration plan with field deployment at several physical sites across 4 states and additional scalable simulation from high fidelity charging models.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Performance Characterization of InCharge™ ICE-66 V2X Bidirectional DC Fast Charger

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology extends the role of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle’s (PHEV) and Battery Electric Vehicle’s (BEV) batteries beyond transportation by enabling bidirectional power transfer between the vehicle's onboard energy storage and the utility grid. Modern battery-powered vehicles are equipped with high-capacity battery packs that remain stationary and underutilized for the majority of their operational life. A vehicle used for daily commuting may be parked and connected to charging infrastructure for 18–20 hours per day, representing a significant untapped energy resource. When considered at scale, the aggregated storage capacity of a modest fleet of 10–15 vehicles within a single parking facility can reach the MWh range, sufficient to partially offset peak demand for a mid-size commercial building or contribute meaningful ancillary services to the local grid. The ability to charge during off-peak periods when electricity prices are low and discharge during peak demand when prices are high positions EV batteries as distributed energy arbitrage assets, with the potential to offset vehicle ownership and charging costs. Beyond energy arbitrage, V2G-capable assets can provide ancillary grid services through active and reactive power injections. Active power supports grid frequency regulation, while reactive power supports local voltage regulation. Together, these capabilities establish V2G as a technically promising and economically relevant pathway toward greater integration of battery-powered vehicles into the broader energy system.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

A Distributive, Non-Destructive, Real-Time Approach to Snowpack Monitoring

This invention is designed to ascertain the snow water equivalence (SWE) of snowpacks with better spatial and temporal resolutions than present techniques. The approach is ground-based, as opposed to some techniques that are air-based. In addition, the approach is compact, non-destructive, and can be communicated with remotely, and thus can be deployed in areas not possible with current methods. Presently there are two principal ground-based techniques for obtaining SWE measurements. The first is manual snow core measurements of the snowpack. This approach is labor-intensive, destructive, and has poor temporal resolution. The second approach is to deploy a large (e.g., 3x3 m) snowpillow, which requires significant infrastructure, is potentially hazardous [uses a approximately equal to 200-gallon (approximately equal to 760-L) antifreeze-filled bladder], and requires deployment in a large, flat area. High deployment costs necessitate few installations, thus yielding poor spatial resolution of data. Both approaches have limited usefulness in complex and/or avalanche-prone terrains. This approach is compact, non-destructive to the snowpack, provides high temporal resolution data, and due to potential low cost, can be deployed with high spatial resolution. The invention consists of three primary components: a robust wireless network and computing platform designed for harsh climates, new SWE sensing strategies, and algorithms for smart sampling, data logging, and SWE computation.

Frolik, Jeff↗

Compendium of Cyber Incident Notification Requirements for Critical Infrastructure Utilities by State

Cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure in the United States are on the rise and pose serious risks to the economy and health and safety of its citizens. Experts suggest a sound cyber risk mitigation strategy includes constant monitoring for signs of cyber intrusions and rapid reporting of incidents so that other critical infrastructure operators may benefit from early warnings. Reporting incidents to Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) and other state agencies who have roles in energy emergency planning and incident response and recovery is essential for them to maintain situational awareness and provide necessary support to ensure rapid restoration of utility services, should disruptions occur.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Hydrogen Blending into Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure: Review of the State of Technology

Hydrogen is an energy carrier that could play an important role in reducing emissions associated with difficult-to-decarbonize sectors including peaking and load-following electricity and industrial heating. Blending hydrogen into the natural gas pipelines has been proposed as an approach for achieving near-term emissions reductions and early-market access for hydrogen technologies such as electrolyzers. Numerous challenges and uncertainties complicate this approach to natural gas decarbonization, however, and this review summarizes current research on the material, economic, and operational factors that must be considered for hydrogen blending. First, this review explores previous research regarding the effects of blending hydrogen on gas mixture fluid and thermodynamic properties, pipeline materials and equipment performance within transmission and distribution networks, and supporting facilities such as underground storage and end-use hydrogen separation. We also investigate and summarize studies that developed mathematical models of natural gas pipeline networks with hydrogen blending, and the operational and techno-economic findings of these network studies. Finally, we discuss notable hydrogen blending demonstrations and their key outcomes. Many blending demonstrations internationally have proven that low hydrogen percentage blending is feasible under very specific scenarios with limited end-usage applications on both high-pressure transmission lines and low-pressure distribution lines. This report summarizes findings from literature into key areas of consensus and disagreement. Research gaps and disagreements between the literature are highlighted to provide directions for future hydrogen blending research.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

The PetscSF Scalable Communication Layer

PetscSF, the communication component of the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc), is designed to provide PETSc's communication infrastructure suitable for exascale computers that utilize GPUs and other accelerators. PetscSF provides a simple application programming interface (API) for managing common communication patterns in scientific computations by using a star-forest graph representation. PetscSF supports several implementations based on MPI and NVSHMEM, whose selection is based on the characteristics of the application or the target architecture. An efficient and portable model for network and intra-node communication is essential for implementing large-scale applications. The Message Passing Interface, which has been the de facto standard for distributed memory systems, has developed into a large complex API that does not yet provide high performance on the emerging heterogeneous CPU-GPU-based exascale systems. Here, we discuss the design of PetscSF, how it can overcome some difficulties of working directly with MPI on GPUs, and we demonstrate its performance, scalability, and novel features.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Spatially Resolved Domicile Charging Demands for Light-, Medium-, and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles in Virginia

The use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and resulting grid impacts are likely to grow rapidly, and evaluation of optimal smart charge management and grid integration strategies is warranted now. Evaluating distribution grid impacts requires fine-grained models of PEV operations to estimate charging loads across diverse vehicles at high spatial resolution. We propose such a model and consider a high-electrification scenario in Richmond and Newport News, Virginia. Our framework considers four categories of vehicle that are amenable to early aggressive electrification: light-duty passenger vehicles (LDV), trucks and vans with a focus on delivery or other local operations, school buses, and transit buses. These vehicles have a relatively consistent domicile, reducing the need for public charging infrastructure rollout to electrify. We apply a recent LDV model and propose new models for each vocation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle, leveraging telematics data. We demonstrate our framework in Virginia and find energy demands in the region may total 15 GWh day, with most consumed by LDV. However, considering power demand at high spatial resolution reveals a different trend: LDVs have relatively small peak loads at specific sites (peak site demand around 800 kW) compared to average and high demand medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging sites (peak site demand around 6,000 kW at a transit bus depot, 1,500 kW at a local freight hub, and 1,000 kW at a school). Our framework yields insights on the relative impacts of each vocation and enables future work to tailor grid integration strategies to each vehicle category.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Namibia Dashboard Enhancements

The purpose of this presentation is for a Technical Interchange Meeting with the Namibia Hydrological Services (NHS) in Namibia. The meeting serves as a capacity building exercise. This presentation goes over existing software functionality developed in collaboration with NHS over the past five years called the Namibia Flood Dashboard. Furthermore, it outlines new functionality developed over the past year and future functionality that will be developed. The main purpose of the Dashboard is to assist in decision support for flood warning. The Namibia Flood Dashboard already exists online in a cloud environment and has been used in prototype mode for the past few years.Functionality in the Dashboard includes river gauge hydrographs, TRMM estimate rainfall, EO-1 flood maps, infrastructure maps and other related functions. Future functionality includes attempting to integrate interoperability standards and crowd-sourcing capability. To this end, we are adding OpenStreetMap compatibility and an Applications Program Interface (API) called a GeoSocial API to enable discovery and sharing of data products useful for decision support via social media.

Disaster Decision Support↗

Baltimore Energy & Infrastructure: Assessing Urban Heat Vulnerability in Baltimore Neighborhoods to Inform Transportation Resiliency Planning Efforts

Across the world, climate change is altering cities and their local climate systems. Following global trends of rising mean temperatures, Baltimore, Maryland is projected to experience more frequent extreme heat events. Exacerbated by Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, residents of the city face high temperatures from limited tree canopy, highly paved and impervious surfaces, limited air flow, and high concentrations of localized emissions. Urban heat is dispersed asymmetrically, with historically marginalized populations experiencing disproportionately severe heat. Recognizing the impacts of extreme urban heat, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) collaborated with us, the Spring 2024 Goddard Energy and Infrastructure NASA DEVELOP team to assess urban impacts of MTA users and assets and explore opportunities to enhance resiliency planning. We evaluated the feasibility of NASA Earth observations (EOs) in visualizing heat vulnerability in Baltimore City and County. We mapped UHI and extreme heat using remote sensing observations, tailored a Heat Priority Score (HPS) to analyze heat data in tandem with socioeconomic data from American Community Survey (ACS), and utilized SOlar and LongWave Environmental Irradiance Geometry (SOLWEIG) model to estimate MTA riders’ thermal comfort. NASA EOs served to quantify the distribution and severity of extreme heat at the block group level, which was found to correlate with a lack of vegetation and presence of densely built-up surroundings. The HPS revealed that extreme heat events most negatively impact communities that exhibit social vulnerability through indicators such as age, race, and income. These findings will inform neighborhood resiliency plans for the MTA that can be incorporated into their Adaptation Resiliency Toolbox (ART).

Baltimore,↗

Elucidating the Competitive Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignin-Derived Oxygenates over Bulk MoO 3 Catalyst through Kinetic Analysis

Ambient pressure hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived oxygenates over molybdenum oxide-based catalysts is an effective strategy to produce chemicals that can be directly integrated into our existing petrochemical infrastructure. Complexities pertaining to the simultaneous kinetic and mechanistic analysis of HDO have limited research endeavors to single-compound systems. Although valuable insight into the catalytic reaction has been gained through this approach, it provides limited understanding of the competitive adsorption behavior manifest in a realistic multioxygenate reaction environment. To address this shortcoming, simultaneous gas-phase acetone and anisole HDO was performed at 330 °C and ≤1 bar H 2 partial pressure over bulk MoO 3 . Propene, propane, and benzene were the HDO products formed, showing a similar product distribution to the single-compound system. Selectivity to propene and propane was ∼14 times higher than benzene, even at three times higher anisole partial pressure compared to acetone. A negative anisole HDO (−0.97 ± 0.22) rate order with varying acetone partial pressure suggested a strong inhibition effect on anisole HDO by acetone. Conversely, with increasing anisole partial pressure, a rate order of −0.07 ± 0.12 was observed for acetone HDO, implying a weak impact of anisole cofeed on acetone HDO. A kinetic-driven approach was taken to estimate the relative adsorption constants of the oxygenates. Acetone exhibited a 6.4 times higher adsorption propensity on the HDO active site than anisole. Relative adsorption constants for phenolics increased with increasing basicity of the oxygenate but decreased for aliphatic molecules, suggesting a volcano-shaped relationship. The results suggest the possibility of an optimal electron density around the molecule’s oxygen atom to maximize the molecule’s adsorption strength.

acid sites↗

A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States

"A Supply Chain Road Map for Offshore Wind Energy in the United States" identifies pathways to developing a domestic offshore wind supply chain that can manufacture and deploy the major components needed to set the United States on a pathway to installing 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. The report estimates that this supply chain could require an investment of at least $\$$22.7 billion this decade to meet an annual demand for components, ports, and vessels in 2030. Although this is a considerable investment, it could allow the industry to install around $\$$100 billion worth of offshore wind this decade by reducing risk of delays due to global supply chain bottlenecks and creating a robust network of assets that will continue to be effective well beyond 2030. The United States would need at least 34 manufacturing facilities employing 10,000 workers, 39,000 jobs in the supporting supply chain, 10 marshaling ports, 4-6 dedicated wind turbine installation vessels, 4-6 dedicated heavy-lift vessels, and 4-8 U.S.-flagged specialized feeder barges to come online this decade to support an average annual deployment of 4-6 gigawatts offshore wind capacity per year. This supply chain could be developed in 6-9 years, but would require near-term decision making and efficient permitting and planning to strategically develop these resources by 2030. Additional investment and expansion would be required in the 2030s as the sector expands into new regions (such as the Gulf of Mexico) and new technologies (such as larger wind turbines and floating wind energy projects). Furthermore, the planning process needs to meaningfully engage with communities that will be impacted by supply chain expansion to achieve just outcomes and maximize benefits to these stakeholders, which will result in a more equitable and sustainable supply chain. While U.S. offshore wind has made significant progress in recent years, remaining supply chain challenges include uncertainty surrounding deployment and procurement timelines; a lack of port and vessel infrastructure; and limitations in the available workforce, supporting supplier networks, and energy justice best practices. However, many of these problems can be addressed through improved communication between key stakeholder groups, support from federal and state governments, and forward-thinking designs of supply chain assets to accommodate future technology changes for fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind. Although it is a significant task, developing these domestic capabilities represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to a decarbonized energy future and also create massive economic benefits that are distributed throughout the country.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Space Transformation -- Localizing the Remote and Connecting the Isolated

In motivating the Space Transformation theme for this year’s 4S symposium, the organizers provided the following context, “Transformation of economies are driven by a change in values and accelerated by new technologies.” These words rang particularly true when I read them at the beginning of the holiday season. Like so many others, I was in the early phases of my Christmas shopping procrastination campaign, and I’d just been reflecting on how Amazon Prime was the transformational tool I’d been waiting for. Basic limiting principles of time and space, supply and demand, were all but erased by the Amazon Prime phenomenon. Coupled with emerging 3D printing and other adaptive manufacturing technologies, a transformation from deliberate planning to “think it … have it” had occurred, empowering me to procrastinate longer than I’d ever dreamed possible. The organizers went on to ponder, “Will space transformation also affect society?”, just as our team at the Air Force Research Lab’s (AFRL) Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) were working alongside partners within our larger Integrated Capabilities Directorate, NASA’s Flight Opportunities and Small Spacecraft Technology programs, and DARPA’s Luna-10 program to develop technologies and execute demonstration missions that leverage the space domain to genuinely connect even the most remote and austere domains on the timeline of need. Picking apart the miracle that is Amazon prime, where does the model fail, and why? More relevantly to the theme of this year’s symposium, how can the space domain be used to overcome its limitations and minimize its weaknesses? Perhaps it is best assessed in the context of Use Cases. What are the Amazon delivery cost, schedule, and cargo limiters to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station, or the Lunar South Pole Research Station? This paper will explore enabling infrastructure that allows Amazon prime to thrive and assess the transformational enabling technologies that would be necessary to extend that miracle to the truly remote or the truly austere. Localizing the Remote • First, it will evaluate the ability of the on-going AFRL Rocket Cargo and Space Initiatives Ringside Seats systems, coupled with Astrobotic’s Xodiak and Xogdor capabilities, developed to support the NASA Flight Opportunities Program (FOP), to supply orbital/suborbital delivery to both improved and austere sites on the Earth and Moon. • Then, it will add the surface terminal distribution leg, with an examination of Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), equipped with Mobile Autonomous Robotic Swarm (MARS) software, and Intuitive Machine’s Hopper, developed with support of AFRL and NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Connecting the Isolated From there, it will focus on the destination, asking what implied destination services are required to support highly assured autonomous delivery. • Specifically, it will highlight Astrobotic’s Skymage mesh-networked publish and subscribe communication and navigation service, as well as AFRL’s on-going developments of radioisotope and reactor nuclear-sourced thermoelectric power generation and distribution systems under development under the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-orbit Nuclear Power (JETSON) program by Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse, Intuitive Machines, and Zeno Power, to provide the power service to locations well off the grid. • Finally, the paper will connect to the “human machine”. What connects the remote or in-situ human consumer to the remote domain? What connects the diverse international government and commercial services to each other? The former will focus on AFRL’s OraCloud feeding their Space Defense Control and Characterization System (SDCCS) and Lunar Station’s MoonHacker systems, while the latter will focus on the BlueHalo/Tensor LunX Technology Platform for the Cislunar Commodity Marketplace. In 1984, Krafft Ehricke famously remarked that, “If God wanted man to become a spacefaring species, He would have given man a Moon.” This paper is not about the Moon, but is about humans as a spacefaring species, shedding the pesky land/air limitations of the Amazon Prime model … so that we can all live a procrastinator’s “think it … have it” existence.

Charles Finley↗

Shunt-Connected FACTS and Synchronous Condensers

In recent years, the electric-transmission system has undergone a significant transformation marked by a greater integration of renewable-energy sources like wind and solar, the phasing out of thermal generation plants, and a concerted effort towards electrifying energy consumption. To keep pace with the integration of renewable-energy sources and the escalating demands of industries and households, it is imperative to expand and modernize the existing power infrastructure. These upgrades are essential to maintain grid stability, enhance power delivery, and boost overall efficiency of the system. However, challenges have emerged with the growing complexity of power grids, particularly in the realms of voltage control, transient stability, and power-quality management.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Genomics-Based Security Protocols: From Plaintext to Cipherprotein

The evolving nature of the internet will require continual advances in authentication and confidentiality protocols. Nature provides some clues as to how this can be accomplished in a distributed manner through molecular biology. Cryptography and molecular biology share certain aspects and operations that allow for a set of unified principles to be applied to problems in either venue. A concept for developing security protocols that can be instantiated at the genomics level is presented. A DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) inspired hash code system is presented that utilizes concepts from molecular biology. It is a keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC) capable of being used in secure mobile Ad hoc networks. It is targeted for applications without an available public key infrastructure. Mechanics of creating the HMAC are presented as well as a prototype HMAC protocol architecture. Security concepts related to the implementation differences between electronic domain security and genomics domain security are discussed.

Shaw, Harry↗