Profile-Based Load Scheduling in Wireless Energy Harvesting Sensors for Data Rate Maximization

In this paper, power management algorithms for energy harvesting sensors (EHS) that operate purely based on energy harvested from the environment are proposed. To maintain energy neutrality, EHS nodes schedule their utilization of the harvested power so as to save/draw energy into/from an inefficient battery during peak/low energy harvesting periods, respectively. Under this constraint, one of the key system design goals is to transmit as much data as possible given the energy harvesting profile. For implementational simplicity, it is assumed that the EHS transmits at a constant data rate with power control, when the channel is sufficiently good. By converting the data rate maximization problem into a convex optimization problem, the optimal load scheduling (power management) algorithm that maximizes the average data rate subject to energy neutrality is derived. Also, the energy storage requirements on the battery for implementing the proposed algorithm are calculated. Further, robust schemes that account for the insufficiency of battery storage capacity, or errors in the prediction of the harvested power are proposed. The superior performance of the proposed algorithms over conventional scheduling schemes are demonstrated through computations using numerical data from solar energy harvesting databases.

Throughput Maximization of Delay-Constrained Traffic in Wireless Energy Harvesting Sensors

A wireless Energy Harvesting Sensor (EHS) needs to send data packets arriving in its queue over a fading channel at maximum possible throughput while ensuring acceptable packet delays. At the same time, it needs to ensure that energy neutrality is satisfied, i.e., the average energy drawn from a battery should equal the amount of energy deposited in it minus the energy lost due to the inefficiency of the battery. In this work, a framework is developed under which a system designer can optimize the performance of the EHS node using power control based on the current channel state information, when the EHS node employs a single modulation and coding scheme and the channel is Rayleigh fading. Optimal system parameters for throughput optimal, delay optimal and delay-constrained throughput optimal policies that ensure energy neutrality are derived. It is seen that a throughput optimal (maximal) policy is packet delay-unbounded and an average delay optimal (minimal) policy achieves negligibly small throughput. Finally, the influence of the harvested energy profile on the performance of the EHS is illustrated through the example of solar energy harvesting.

Evaluation and improvement of total transfer capability - A case study

With deregulation, the total transfer capability (TTC) calculation, which is the basis for evaluating available transfer capability (ATC), has become very significant. TTC is an important index in power markets with large volume of inter-area power exchanges and wheeling transactions taking place on an hourly basis. Its computation helps to achieve a viable technical and commercial transmission operation. The aim of the paper is to evaluate TTC in the interconnections and also to improve it using reactive optimization technique and UPFC devices. Computations are carried out for normal and contingency cases such as single line, tie line and generator outages. Base and optimized results are presented, and the results show how reactive optimization and unified power flow controller help to improve the system conditions. In this paper repeated power flow method is used to calculate TTC due to its ease of implementation. A case study is carried out on a 205 bus equivalent system, a part of Indian Southern grid. Parameters like voltage magnitude, L-index, minimum singular value and MW losses are computed to analyze the system performance.

Three-dimensional computational modeling of momentum, heat, and mass transfer in a laser surface alloying process

A three- dimensional, transient model is developed for studying heat transfer, fluid flow, and mass transfer for the case of a single- pass laser surface alloying process. The coupled momentum, energy, and species conservation equations are solved using a finite volume procedure. Phase change processes are modeled using a fixed-grid enthalpy-porosity technique, which is capable of predicting the continuously evolving solid- liquid interface. The three- dimensional model is able to predict the species concentration distribution inside the molten pool during alloying, as well as in the entire cross section of the solidified alloy. The model is simulated for different values of various significant processing parameters such as laser power, scanning speed, and powder feedrate in order to assess their influences on geometry and dynamics of the pool, cooling rates, as well as species concentration distribution inside the substrate. Effects of incorporating property variations in the numerical model are also discussed.

Effect of orientational motion of mobile chromophores on the dynamics of Forster energy transfer in polymers

Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations have been carried out to explore the effects of the orientational motion of the donor-acceptor (D-A) chromophore pair on the Forster energy transfer between the D-A pair embedded in a polymer chain in solution. It is found that the usually employed orientational averaging (that is, replacing the orientational factor, kappa, by kappa (2) = 2/3) may lead to an error in the estimation of the rate of the reaction by about 20%. In the limit of slow orientational relaxation, the preaveraging of the orientational factor leads to an overestimation of the rate, while in the opposite limit of very fast orientational relaxation, the usual scheme underestimates the rate. The latter results from an interesting interplay between reaction and diffusion. On the other hand, when one of the chromophores is fixed, the preaveraged rate is found to be fairly reliable if the rotational relaxation of the chromophore is sufficiently fast. The present study also reveals a power law dependence of the FRET rate on the chain length (rate proportional to N- alpha, with alpha approximate to 2.6).

Starting scheme for load commutated inverter-fed wound field synchronous machine using an auxiliary low-power voltage source inverter

Conventional thyristor-based load commutated inverter (LCI)-fed wound field synchronous machine operates only above a minimum speed that is necessary to develop enough back emf to ensure commutation. The drive is started and brought up to a speed of around 10-15% by a complex `dc link current pulsing' technique. During this process, the drive have problems such as pulsating torque, insufficient average starting torque, longer starting time, etc. In this regard a simple starting and low-speed operation scheme, by employing an auxiliary low-power voltage source inverter (VSI) between the LCI and the machine terminals, is presented in this study. The drive is started and brought up to a low speed of around 15% using the VSI alone with field oriented control. The complete control is then smoothly and dynamically transferred to the conventional LCI control. After the control transfer, the VSI is turned off and physically disconnected from the main circuit. The advantages of this scheme are smooth starting, complete control of torque and flux at starting and low speeds, less starting time, stable operation, etc. The voltage rating of the required VSI is very low of the order of 10-15%, whereas the current rating is dependent on the starting torque requirement of the load. The experimental results from a 15.8 hp LCI-fed wound field synchronous machine are given to demonstrate the scheme.

Best Node Selection Through Distributed Fast Variable Power Multiple Access

In many wireless applications, it is highly desirable to have a fast mechanism to resolve or select the packet from the user with the highest priority. Furthermore, individual priorities are often known only locally at the users. In this paper we introduce an extremely fast, local-information-based multiple access algorithm that selects the best node in 1.8 to 2.1 slots,which is much lower than the 2.43 slot average achieved by the best algorithm known to date. The algorithm, which we call Variable Power Multiple Access Selection (VP-MAS), uses the local channel state information from the accessing nodes to the receiver, and maps the priorities into the receive power.It is inherently distributed and scales well with the number of users. We show that mapping onto a discrete set of receive power levels is optimal, and provide a complete characterization for it. The power levels are chosen to exploit packet capture that inherently occurs in a wireless physical layer. The VP-MAS algorithm adjusts the expected number of users that contend in each step and their respective transmission powers, depending on whether previous transmission attempts resulted in capture,idle channel, or collision.

Numerical Study Of Heat Transfer From Pin Fin Heat Sink Using Steady And Pulsated Impinging Jets

The work reported in this thesis is an attempt to enhance heat transfer in electronic devices with the use of impinging air jets on pin-finned heat sinks. The cooling per-formance of electronic devices has attracted increased attention owing to the demand of compact size, higher power densities and demands on system performance and re-liability. Although the technology of cooling has greatly advanced, the main cause of malfunction of the electronic devices remains overheating. The problem arises due to restriction of space and also due to high heat dissipation rates, which have increased from a fraction of a W/cm2to 100s of W /cm2. Although several researchers have at-tempted to address this at the design stage, unfortunately the speed of invention of cooling mechanism has not kept pace with the ever-increasing requirement of heat re- moval from electronic chips. As a result, efficient cooling of electronic chip remains a challenge in thermal engineering. Heat transfer can be enhanced by several ways like air cooling, liquid cooling, phase change cooling etc. However, in certain applications due to limitations on cost and weight, eg. air borne application, air cooling is imperative. The heat transfer can be increased by two ways. First, increasing the heat transfer coefficient (forced convec- tion), and second, increasing the surface area of heat transfer (finned heat sinks). From previous literature it was established that for a given volumetric air flow rate, jet im-pingement is the best option for enhancing heat transfer coefficient and for a given volume of heat sink material pin-finned heat sinks are the best option because of their high surface area to volume ratio. There are certain applications where very high jet velocities cannot be used because of limitations of noise and presence of delicate components. This process can further be improved by pulsating the jet. A steady jet often stabilizes the boundary layer on the surface to be cooled. Enhancement in the convective heat transfer can be achieved if the boundary layer is broken. Disruptions in the boundary layer can be caused by pulsating the impinging jet, i.e., making the jet unsteady. Besides, the pulsations lead to chaotic mixing, i.e., the fluid particles no more follow well defined streamlines but move unpredictably through the stagnation region. Thus the flow mimics turbulence at low Reynolds number. The pulsation should be done in such a way that the boundary layer can be disturbed periodically and yet adequate coolant is made available. So, that there is not much variation in temperature during one pulse cycle. From previous literature it was found that square waveform is most effective in enhancing heat transfer. In the present study the combined effect of pin-finned heat sink and impinging slot jet, both steady and unsteady, has been investigated for both laminar and turbulent flows. The effect of fin height and height of impingement has been studied. The jets have been pulsated in square waveform to study the effect of frequency and duty cycle. This thesis attempts to increase our understanding of the slot jet impingement on pin-finned heat sinks through numerical investigations. A systematic study is carried out using the finite-volume code FLUENT (Version 6.2) to solve the thermal and flow fields. The standard k-ε model for turbulence equations and two layer zonal model in wall function are used in the problem Pressure-velocity coupling is handled using the SIMPLE algorithm with a staggered grid. The parameters that affect the heat transfer coefficient are: height of the fins, total height of impingement, jet exit Reynolds number, frequency of the jet and duty cycle (percentage time the jet is flowing during one complete cycle of the pulse). From the studies carried out it was found that: a) beyond a certain height of the fin the rate of enhancement of heat transfer becomes very low with further increase in height, b) the heat transfer enhancement is much more sensitive to any changes at low Reynolds number than compared to high Reynolds number, c) for a given total height of impingement the use of fins and pulsated jet, increases the effective heat transfer coefficient by almost 200% for the same average Reynolds number, d) for all the cases it was observed that the optimum frequency of impingement is around 50 − 100 Hz and optimum duty cycle around 25-33.33%, e) in the case of turbulent jets the enhancement in heat transfer due to pulsations is very less compared to the enhancement in case of laminar jets.

On the Limits of Spatial Reuse and Cooperative Communication for Dense Wireless Networks

We consider a dense ad hoc wireless network comprising n nodes confined to a given two dimensional region of fixed area. For the Gupta-Kumar random traffic model and a realistic interference and path loss model (i.e., the channel power gains are bounded above, and are bounded below by a strictly positive number), we study the scaling of the aggregate end-to-end throughput with respect to the network average power constraint, P macr, and the number of nodes, n. The network power constraint P macr is related to the per node power constraint, P macr, as P macr = np. For large P, we show that the throughput saturates as Theta(log(P macr)), irrespective of the number of nodes in the network. For moderate P, which can accommodate spatial reuse to improve end-to-end throughput, we observe that the amount of spatial reuse feasible in the network is limited by the diameter of the network. In fact, we observe that the end-to-end path loss in the network and the amount of spatial reuse feasible in the network are inversely proportional. This puts a restriction on the gains achievable using the cooperative communication techniques studied in and, as these rely on direct long distance communication over the network.

Optimal association of mobile wireless devices with a WLAN-3G access network

In this paper, we consider the problem of association of wireless stations (STAs) with an access network served by a wireless local area network (WLAN) and a 3G cellular network. There is a set of WLAN Access Points (APs) and a set of 3G Base Stations (BSs) and a number of STAs each of which needs to be associated with one of the APs or one of the BSs. We concentrate on downlink bulk elastic transfers. Each association provides each ST with a certain transfer rate. We evaluate an association on the basis of the sum log utility of the transfer rates and seek the utility maximizing association. We also obtain the optimal time scheduling of service from a 3G BS to the associated STAs. We propose a fast iterative heuristic algorithm to compute an association. Numerical results show that our algorithm converges in a few steps yielding an association that is within 1% (in objective value) of the optimal (obtained through exhaustive search); in most cases the algorithm yields an optimal solution.

Capacity Optimizing Hop Distance in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network with Power Control

In a dense multi-hop network of mobile nodes capable of applying adaptive power control, we consider the problem of finding the optimal hop distance that maximizes a certain throughput measure in bit-metres/sec, subject to average network power constraints. The mobility of nodes is restricted to a circular periphery area centered at the nominal location of nodes. We incorporate only randomly varying path-loss characteristics of channel gain due to the random motion of nodes, excluding any multi-path fading or shadowing effects. Computation of the throughput metric in such a scenario leads us to compute the probability density function of random distance between points in two circles. Using numerical analysis we discover that choosing the nearest node as next hop is not always optimal. Optimal throughput performance is also attained at non-trivial hop distances depending on the available average network power.

Wireless sensor networks forhuman intruder detection

In this paper we report on the outcomes of a research and demonstration project on human intrusion detection in a large secure space using an ad hoc wireless sensor network. This project has been a unique experience in collaborative research, involving ten investigators (with expertise in areas such as sensors, circuits, computer systems,communication and networking, signal processing and security) to execute a large funded project that spanned three to four years. In this paper we report on the specific engineering solution that was developed: the various architectural choices and the associated specific designs. In addition to developing a demonstrable system, the various problems that arose have given rise to a large amount of basic research in areas such as geographical packet routing, distributed statistical detection, sensors and associated circuits, a low power adaptive micro-radio, and power optimising embedded systems software. We provide an overview of the research results obtained.

New Insights into Optimal Discrete Rate Adaptation for Average Power Constrained Single and Multi-Node Systems

The throughput-optimal discrete-rate adaptation policy, when nodes are subject to constraints on the average power and bit error rate, is governed by a power control parameter, for which a closed-form characterization has remained an open problem. The parameter is essential in determining the rate adaptation thresholds and the transmit rate and power at any time, and ensuring adherence to the power constraint. We derive novel insightful bounds and approximations that characterize the power control parameter and the throughput in closed-form. The results are comprehensive as they apply to the general class of Nakagami-m (m >= 1) fading channels, which includes Rayleigh fading, uncoded and coded modulation, and single and multi-node systems with selection. The results are appealing as they are provably tight in the asymptotic large average power regime, and are designed and verified to be accurate even for smaller average powers.

Dual-Stage Power Management Algorithms for Energy Harvesting Sensors

In this paper, we propose power management algorithms for maximizing the utility of energy harvesting sensors (EHS) that operate purely on the basis of energy harvested from the environment. In particular, we consider communication (i.e., transmission and reception) power management issues for EHS under an energy neutrality constraint. We also consider the fixed power loss effects of the circuitry, the battery inefficiency and its storage capacity, in the design of the algorithms. We propose a two-stage structure that exploits the inherent difference in the timescales at which the energy harvesting and channel fading processes evolve, without loss of optimality of the resulting solution. The outer stage schedules the power that can be used by an inner stage algorithm, so as to maximize the long term average utility and at the same time maintain energy neutrality. The inner stage optimizes the communication parameters to achieve maximum utility in the short-term, subject to the power constraint imposed by the outer stage. We optimize the algorithms for different transmission schemes such as the truncated channel inversion and retransmission strategies. The performance of the algorithms is illustrated via simulations using solar irradiance data, and for the case of Rayleigh fading channels. The results demonstrate the significant performance benefits that can be obtained using the proposed power management algorithms compared to the energy efficient (optimum when there is no storage) and the uniform power consumption (optimum when the battery has infinite capacity and is perfectly efficient) approaches.

Distributed Space Time Coding for Wireless Two-Way Relaying

We consider the wireless two-way relay channel, in which two-way data transfer takes place between the end nodes with the help of a relay. For the Denoise-And-Forward (DNF) protocol, it was shown by Koike-Akino et al. that adaptively changing the network coding map used at the relay greatly reduces the impact of Multiple Access Interference at the relay. The harmful effect of the deep channel fade conditions can be effectively mitigated by proper choice of these network coding maps at the relay. Alternatively, in this paper we propose a Distributed Space Time Coding (DSTC) scheme, which effectively removes most of the deep fade channel conditions at the transmitting nodes itself without any CSIT and without any need to adaptively change the network coding map used at the relay. It is shown that the deep fades occur when the channel fade coefficient vector falls in a finite number of vector subspaces of, which are referred to as the singular fade subspaces. DSTC design criterion referred to as the singularity minimization criterion under which the number of such vector subspaces are minimized is obtained. Also, a criterion to maximize the coding gain of the DSTC is obtained. Explicit low decoding complexity DSTC designs which satisfy the singularity minimization criterion and maximize the coding gain for QAM and PSK signal sets are provided. Simulation results show that at high Signal to Noise Ratio, the DSTC scheme provides large gains when compared to the conventional Exclusive OR network code and performs better than the adaptive network coding scheme.