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ARobustWirelessCommunicationSystemforHarshEnvironments IncludingNuclearFacilities
Faranak Nekoogar,Ph.D.
DiracSolutions Inc.
Faranak@DiracSolutions.com
10/19/2017
Outline
q Project Overview
q Background
q Summary of Phase I accomplishments
q SBIR Phase II tasks
q Current SBIR Phase II progress
q Conclusion and path forward
ProjectOverview
• Goal:Developandevaluate asecureandreliablewireless sensorcommunications
systemtoaddresstheuniquechallenges ofRFcommunications nuclearfacilities
• Participant:DiracSolutions Inc.
• Project:Phase IISBIR
• Schedule: 2years(2018-2020)
Background-WirelesssensorcommunicationsimprovesI&Creliabilityandprocessefficiencyinnextgenerationreactors
• Cable integrityandmaintenance is
amajorchallenge inreliable
sensordatareporting incurrent
NPPs
• Nuclearreactorsposeahostile
environmentforRFsignals
•Lotsofmetal
•Thickconcretewalls
•Liquids
•Clutter
•EMIfrom/ortootherwireless
systems
•Conventionalwireless
communications facesignificant
limitations inreportingsensordata
inNPPs
• BasedontheresultsfromourPhaseIsoftwaresimulations,design
considerations,andfieldexperiments,inPhaseIIweplantodevelop,
fieldevaluate,andmanufacturereliablewirelesssensor
communicationssystembasedonultra-wideband(UWB)technology
toaddresstheconcernsassociatedwiththeperformanceof
conventionalwirelesstechnologyinnuclearreactors.
Objectives
BW= GHz
Power
Frequency
Noise floor
Key advantages of UWB signaling are:
Ø Resistant to signal jamming and tampering
Ø Good penetration properties of signal in harsh environments
Ø Secure transmission by pulse coding
ØHigh channel capacity (data rate)
Ø Accurate ranging and geolocation
Ø Inherently encrypted by pulse coding
Ø Simple architecture – small formfactor, low cost
Ø Unlicensed spectrum– Global operations
TraditionalRFsystemsuseNarrowbandsignaling
(Continuouswaveforms,withhighpowerand
narrowfrequencyband)totransmit/receive
information.
Ultra-wideband systemsusenarrowpulses(sub-nano
secondduration,withlowpower,ultra-widefrequencyband
)totransmitandreceiveinformation
Keydisadvantagesofnarrowbandsignaling:
Ø Vulnerabletosignaljammingandspoofing
Ø Limitedpenetrabilityinharshenvironments
Ø Easytodetect
ØLowchannelcapacity(datarate)
Ø LowPrecision
Ø Needssophisticatedencryptiontechniques
Ø Complexhardwarearchitecture
ØLimitationsinworldwideoperation
NarrowRFpulsesasbuildingblocksforcommunicationsinUWBtechnologysignificantlydifferentiatetheirperformanceoverconventionalnarrowbandsystems
UWBRFsignalsofferuniqueadvantages insensordatareportingatNPPs
• UWB pulses offer physical layer encryption and look like noise to other receivers
• UWBPulsesarelesssensitivetomultipath
phenomenon
PhaseIgoal:Uniquely designedUWBpulsesallowsensorcommunications inextremelyharsh
environments(i.e.behindclosedmetallicdoors,orthroughtickwalls)andofferdatasecurity
• Developed auniqueUWBmodulation
technique ”EncryptedTransmitted-Reference
(ETR)”withthefollowingfeatures:
• Robustperformanceinreflectiveenvironments
• Physicallayersecurity
• Asynchronous transmission
• Communications systemanalysis -
InvestigatedtheeffectsofEMIandinterfering
RFsignalbasedonthefollowingparameters:
- Frequencies
- Modulation
- Bandwidth,pulseduration
• Conducted fieldexperiments tocharacterize
UWBsignal transmission atMITresearch
reactor(MITR)
SummaryofPhaseISBIRAccomplishments
SBIRPhaseIAccomplishments– SoftwaresimulationsforUWBpulsedesign
PulseRepetitionFrequencyStudy PulseIntegrationPeriodStudy
NPPChannelModeling
SBIRPhase IAccomplishments – UWBsignalcharacterization inMITResearchReactor
PhaseIOutcomesforwirelesscommunicationsdesignparameters
CommunicationsParameterFrequency(MHz) 400 700 900
PulseDuration(ns) 30 20 10
Pulse RepetitionFrequency Adjustablefrom10KHz to100KHz
Delaybetweenpulses Adjustablefro5nsto30ns
DevelopasecureandreliableUWBcommunications systembased onPhase Isimulation
studies andfieldexperiments inasoftware-defined- radio(SDR)thatcanadapt it’s
communications parameterstothedynamicenvironment ofvariousnuclearreactor
facilities
PhaseIISBIRPlan
(Master) SDR Unit senses the RF channel, sends commands to UWB Slave receiver for frequency selection
UWB transmitter sends sensor data at multiple frequencies / Channels
ControlRoom InstrumentRoom,nearreactor
UWB receiver adjusts to the optimal frequency command by the master SDR unit
q DevelophardwareforSDRmasterunittosense theRFchannel forbestcommunication
frequencyselection
q Develophardwareformultiple UWBpulsers atvariousfrequencies (400MHz,700MHz,
900MHz)
q DevelopUWBtransmitters andreceiverswithselfadaptingfrequencyadjustment
capability
q Integratesensors(temperature,humidity,radiation)withtheadaptivetransmitter unit
q Laboratoryandfieldtesting ofthehardware
q MITresearchreactor
q Testbed atORNLTechnical Testing andAnalysis Center (DSIinternallyfunded
CRADA)
q Fullyfunctional integratedhardwaresoftwareforaUWBSDRcommunications system
thatcanadapt it’scommunications parameterstotheoperatingenvironments
q Lowvolumemanufacturing
PhaseIISBIRTasks(Twoyears)
PhaseIISBIRCurrentaccomplishments
q Currentlyworkingonsoftwaredevelopment forSDRmasterunittosense the
channelusingcommercially availableUSRPSDRplatform
q Inprocessofdeveloping pulser circtuit
boardswithmultiple frequencies
including 400MHz,700MHz,900MHz
q Designofswitchcircuitryforadaptive
frequencyselection
q Thesecure UWBsensorcommunications allowsfor:
§ Eliminating cables,reducingtheriskofunpredictable cablehealthandtime
consumingmaintenance, lowercost,improvedreliability,
§ Modernization ofnextgenerationnuclearreactors,allowingmodularreactorsto
benefit fromreliablewireless technology
§ Published aconferencepaperandajournalpaper
q Pathforwardincludes:
§ Fullydeveloptherequiredhardwareandsoftwareforfielddeployments
§ Extensive laboratoryandfieldtests forperformanceevaluations andrefinements
§ MITR,ORNL,andmore
§ Smallscalemanufacturing
§ LargescalemanufacturingandintroducingtheUWBwireless communications
systemstonuclearreactoroperationfacilities (PhaseIII)
ConclusionsandPathForward
AboutDiracSolutionsInc.(DSI)
q Dirac Solutions Inc. is a small business located in Pleasanton, CA with core expertise in Ultra-wideband Communications/RADAR, as well as Active and Passive RF tagging/tracking.
q A spin-off from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
q Extensive R&D program (DOE, NSF, DOD, DHS)
q Growing products lines for national security applications in collaborations with national laboratories and industry
q DSI was the recipient of the “2016 DOE Small Business of the Year award”
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