A robust wireless communication system for electromagnetically harsh environments of nuclear facilities - 155

Conference · Thu Jun 15 04:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:23035290

Nekoogar, Faranak ^[1]; Dowla, Farid ^[2]

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1. Dirac Solutions Inc., 5776 Stoneridge Mall, Rd. no. 226, Pleasanton, CA 94588 (United States)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave. L-183, Livermore, CA 94551 (United States)

Wireless sensors could play a significant role in safety, efficiency, and reliability of instrumentation and control process in current and next generation nuclear power reactors. While conventional narrowband wireless sensors have successfully been used in numerous industrial applications, the RF propagation challenges posed by the heavy metallic and cluttered environment of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has prevented their use in such operations. These challenges include: RF propagation in harsh (reflective, absorptive, cluttered) environments, data security issues, and RF interference to and from other devices in a nuclear reactor. In this introductory paper, first we address how Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology can provide a viable solution for the signal propagation issues in such electromagnetically harsh environments. Second, we present a novel UWB remote powering scheme that allows for battery-free operation of sensors to increase their lifetime. We finalize the paper by presenting the experimental results of using UWB signaling in a representative harsh environment conducted at MIT research reactor. We plan to address the security issues through an innovative UWB communications scheme for sensor data communications in a subsequent paper. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 23035290
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
COMMUNICATIONS
EFFICIENCY
INTERFERENCE
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTOR SAFETY
RELIABILITY
RESEARCH REACTORS
SECURITY
SENSORS
SIGNALS