IoT protocols, architectures, and applications

The proliferation of embedded systems, wireless technologies, and Internet protocols have made it possible for the Internet-of-things (IoT) to bridge the gap between the physical and the virtual world and thereby enabling monitoring and control of the physical environment by data processing systems. IoT refers to the inter-networking of everyday objects that are equipped with sensing, computing, and communication capabilities. These networks can collaborate to autonomously solve a variety of tasks. Due to the very diverse set of applications and application requirements, there is no single communication technology that is able to provide cost-effective and close to optimal performance in all scenarios. In this chapter, we report on research carried out on a selected number of IoT topics: low-power wide-area networks, in particular, LoRa and narrow-band IoT (NB-IoT); IP version 6 over IEEE 802.15.4 time-slotted channel hopping (6TiSCH); vehicular antenna design, integration, and processing; security aspects for vehicular networks; energy efficiency and harvesting for IoT systems; and software-defined networking/network functions virtualization for (SDN/NFV) IoT

The NASA SBIR product catalog

The purpose of this catalog is to assist small business firms in making the community aware of products emerging from their efforts in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. It contains descriptions of some products that have advanced into Phase 3 and others that are identified as prospective products. Both lists of products in this catalog are based on information supplied by NASA SBIR contractors in responding to an invitation to be represented in this document. Generally, all products suggested by the small firms were included in order to meet the goals of information exchange for SBIR results. Of the 444 SBIR contractors NASA queried, 137 provided information on 219 products. The catalog presents the product information in the technology areas listed in the table of contents. Within each area, the products are listed in alphabetical order by product name and are given identifying numbers. Also included is an alphabetical listing of the companies that have products described. This listing cross-references the product list and provides information on the business activity of each firm. In addition, there are three indexes: one a list of firms by states, one that lists the products according to NASA Centers that managed the SBIR projects, and one that lists the products by the relevant Technical Topics utilized in NASA's annual program solicitation under which each SBIR project was selected

Wireless Communication in Data Centers: A Survey

Data centers (DCs) is becoming increasingly an integral part of the computing infrastructures of most enterprises. Therefore, the concept of DC networks (DCNs) is receiving an increased attention in the network research community. Most DCNs deployed today can be classified as wired DCNs as copper and optical fiber cables are used for intra- and inter-rack connections in the network. Despite recent advances, wired DCNs face two inevitable problems; cabling complexity and hotspots. To address these problems, recent research works suggest the incorporation of wireless communication technology into DCNs. Wireless links can be used to either augment conventional wired DCNs, or to realize a pure wireless DCN. As the design spectrum of DCs broadens, so does the need for a clear classification to differentiate various design options. In this paper, we analyze the free space optical (FSO) communication and the 60 GHz radio frequency (RF), the two key candidate technologies for implementing wireless links in DCNs. We present a generic classification scheme that can be used to classify current and future DCNs based on the communication technology used in the network. The proposed classification is then used to review and summarize major research in this area. We also discuss open questions and future research directions in the area of wireless DCs

FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY ANALYSIS OF THE 2704-HV HANFORD BUILDING

This report analyzes multiple aspects of fire protection and life safety design for the 2704-HV Building located at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation Site in Washington State. The analysis contained within focuses on both prescriptive and performance-based designs for the fire systems within the structure. The 2704-HV building is a two-story office building containing approximately 90 individual full-office spaces on each floor along with approximately 60 individual cubicle office spaces on each floor. There are various other types of gathering spaces within the 2704-HV layout including: conference rooms, showers, kitchen and dining areas, training rooms, and lobbies. The 2704-HV building was constructed in 1990 with the intent to serve as the primary Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) Operations Center for the low activity nuclear waste left behind from the Manhattan Project. During the construction of the facility, the building was deemed inadequate to process nuclear waste and therefore repurposed to serve as office space for operations and support personnel. The overall area of 2704-HV is 126,769 ft2 and the overall height of the building is 32 ft. The building’s geometry is rectangular with dimensions of 348 ft by 182 ft. In the prescriptive analysis, the means of egress, construction type, fire alarm system, and water- based fire suppression system located within the building were analyzed. After the in-depth analysis was performed, no deficiencies were noted in any of the systems. The 2704-HV building construction type, building height, building area, number of stories, and structural fire ratings comply with the International Building Code (IBC). In the performance-based analysis, three design fire scenarios were selected based on the degree of hazard to the facility and the occupants. Hand calculations were performed for these three fire scenarios, but only one was selected to be modeled using computer-based software known as Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The first design fire scenario takes place in the main entrance lobby where two upholstered chairs located in the center of the lobby are ignited. Based on the combined peak heat release rate from the fire of these two chairs and external heat flux calculations, a third chair located at a distance of 2 meters across from the on-going fire auto-ignites. For this design fire scenario 1, sprinkler activation and secondary ignition were analyzed. From the results of fire scenario 1, sprinkler activation occurs at approximately 2.5 minutes or 152 seconds from ignition of a lobby chair. The chair peak HRR output is 4,168 kW at 11.25 minutes. Secondary ignition for the chair at 2 meters across from the on-going fire auto-ignites at approximately 139 seconds or 2.3 minutes. The secondary auto-ignition of the chair at 2 meters is based on an external critical heat flux of 10 kW/m2. The second design fire scenario takes place in one of the second-floor conference rooms. This scenario assumes that a conference room table and six chairs around it ignite. The heat release rate produced is evaluated along with the time to ignition of one of the chairs located along the wall of the conference room and directly across from the conference room table. For this fire scenario 2, secondary ignition, tenability conditions, and flashover conditions were analyzed. From the results of fire scenario 2, secondary ignition for a chair directly across from the conference room table against the wall at a distance of 1.52 meters auto-ignites at 1,300 seconds or 21.6 minutes. This assumes a critical heat flux of 10 kW/m2 for the polypropylene chair. Sprinkler activation was not analyzed for this fire scenario, instead untenable conditions were calculated. Untenable conditions per the calculation results show that the conference room becomes untenable very quickly at 35 seconds from the initial fuel package igniting. If the fire is not controlled through fire suppression means, the conference room would experience flashover when the fire reaches 1,538 kW which is approximately 25 minutes from the initial fuel package igniting. The third design fire takes place on the second floor in a cubicle office. The fire comes from a computer igniting and then secondary ignition occurs when a 7-gallon plastic trash bin within the cubicle auto-ignites. For this fire scenario 3, sprinkler activation, secondary ignition, and tenability conditions were analyzed. From the results of fire scenario 3, sprinkler activation occurs at approximately 4.6 minutes or 280.0 seconds from ignition of the cubicle computer. Secondary ignition for the 7-gallon trash bin located 1.2 meters from the on-going computer fire auto-ignites at approximately 799.0 seconds or 13.3 minutes. The secondary auto-ignition of the trash bin is based on an external heat flux of 10 kW/m2. Secondary ignition would never occur in this scenario unless sprinkler activation is neglected. This is because the sprinkler located at an approximate distance of 3 meters activates 8.7 minutes before an external critical heat flux of 10 kW/m2 is radiated onto the trash bin. Untenable conditions per the calculation results show that the cubicle area becomes untenable at approximately 8 minutes from the initial fuel package igniting. In this scenario, untenable conditions would not be reached because the fire would be suppressed by the sprinkler. Fire scenario 3 is the only design fire that was modeled using Pyrosim and Pathfinder. Sprinkler activation was neglected to analyze tenability conditions and to evaluate the available safe egress time versus required safe egress time (ASET Vs. RSET). Heat detection was modeled to determine the RSET detection time. The results for ASET were 16 minutes and 20 seconds and for RSET 6 minutes and 12 seconds. The results from the modeling analysis are satisfactory and validate the fire safety strategy currently installed in the 2704-HV building

Holdsworth Retrofit and Renovation

The University of Massachusetts has a rapidly evolving commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the environmental sustainability of its operations. According to the most recent IPCC report, the buildings sector has more potential to contribute to climate change mitigation than any other sector.1 The energy efficient designs of the current spate of building projects are indicative of the University’s commitment to green building—reducing the energy intensity of the university relative to building area and activities. However, these efforts cannot reduce the total energy use or greenhouse gas emissions from current levels. Among the University’s assets with the greatest potential to achieve these goals are its existing buildings. Most of these are good buildings that have not reached the end of their useful life. Forty-two buildings, encompassing more than half of the general administration and educational space fall into the categories of “catch up and keep up” or “keep and renew” according to the university’s Building Disposition Report.2 Many of the existing buildings have great historical, aesthetic, and emotional value and have stood the test of time as the site of the academic, scientific, and cultural work that is their primary purpose. Can these buildings be updated to dramatically reduce their energy consumption and allow them to continue to function as valuable assets for the long term? What levels of energy savings are possible and reasonable? This report is designed to answer these questions for one representative building: Holdsworth Hall. The recommendations in this report are the product of a detailed and careful examination and exploration of the building and its operations. The investigations and proposed solutions are motivated by two principles: First, the architectural intention should be respected. The building as designed works well on many levels, and no recommendation should undermine currently effective systems and designs or compromise the aesthetic intention of its designers. Second, the building is a complex system, and no change can be considered in isolation. Single measures may achieve savings, but cannot maximize savings or performance without complementary changes in related systems. A final package of recommended measures will define a new building system with emergent properties that make for a qualitatively different and better building beyond simple energy consumption metrics. 1

Fire Protection and Life Safety Analysis- Building 192 – Engineering IV

A Fire Protection and Life Safety Analysis has been performed on California Polytechnic State University Building 192 – Engineering IV as part of a culminating project in the Masters of Science in Fire Protection Engineering program at California Polytechnic State University. This analysis consists of a prescriptive analysis based on current codes and standards as well as a performance-based analysis. A prescriptive analysis evaluates compliance with modern codes and standards and consists of the following five parts: 1)Egress Design and Analysis, 2)Structural Fire Protection, 3)Water-based Fire Suppression, 4)Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, and 5)Smoke Control Systems The purpose of the prescriptive analysis is to determine if Engineering IV complies with the modern codes and standards that would be applicable if the building was constructed in the present. The prescriptive analysis is performed using the 2016 California Building and Fire Codes (CBC and CFC), and well as various NFPA standards adopted by the CBC and CFC. Engineering IV’s means of egress system is evaluated using occupant load factors from the 2016 CBC as well as CPDC Technical Bulletin A/E 17-002, which contains more conservative factors than those originally used based on the 2001 CBC (1997 UBC). The resulting occupant load calculations show that areas previously considered as business use would now be considered flexible assembly space, and that based on the increased occupant loads present the exit capacity is severely non-compliant for the second and third floors of the building. Regardless, the university keeps an emergency planning and preparedness plan in accordance with Chapter 4 of the California Fire Code, and is required to keep the occupant load of the building within the exit capacity limits specified in the original design. Other means of egress requirements such as travel distance, number of exits, exit separation and common path of travel were found to be compliant based on the original design. The building’s fire detection and alarm system was evaluated based on the requirements of the 2016 CBC as well as NFPA 72. Visible appliances are provided in most public use areas; however there is a lack of coverage in the Multi-Disciplinary Dirty Lab, Room 130. Smoke detectors are provided in corridors, classrooms, laboratories and office spaces; however, smoke detectors are not located in the 1st Floor welding lab. The secondary power supply calculations confirm that the Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP) is provided with adequate backup power for this application. The building’s automatic sprinkler system was evaluated using the 2016 CBC as well as NFPA 13 and NFPA 25. Hydraulic calculations were performed for the most remote area of the building on the 3rd floor. These calculations show that the sprinkler demand at this location exceeds the water supply provided at the site man. A fire pump has been sized to meet the demand of the sprinkler system. A structural fire protection analysis was performed using the 2016 CBC. The building elements used in the construction of Engineering IV appear to meet or exceed the requirements set by the 2016 CBC. Additionally, the Type IB construction used for this building meets the allowable building height and area requirements of CBC Chapter 5. All building elements and assemblies with required fire-resistance ratings are U.L. listed. The building’s smoke management features are evaluated based on the requirements of 2016 CBC. Engineering IV is provided with all smoke management features required by the 2016 CBC. The 2-hour rated curtain wall sprinklers and glass enclosure at the top of the communicating stair as well as the horizontal fire shutters serve to limit the development of a large smoke plume in the main lobby and eliminate the requirement for mechanical smoke control. Magnetic closing doors, elevator hoistway protection and combination smoke/fire dampers serve to compartmentalize the building and limit the spread of smoke in a fire event. Duct smoke detectors are provided at both air handlers to detect if smoke is being supplied into the building’s HVAC system and allows the fire alarm system to shut down the HVAC system in alarm condition. A performance based analysis was performed to determine if occupants could safety egress from the building in the event of a fire. Two fire scenarios were evaluated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Pathfinder. The Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) was determined by researching occupant behaviors and by using Pathfinder to model building egress. Tenability criteria were determined based on engineering judgment and used with FDS to determine if unsafe conditions were reached before the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) was reached. Based on the results of the performance based analysis, visibility dropped below 10-meters in both Design Fire Scenarios before the RSET time was reached. As such, Engineering IV does not provide an adequate level of protection for occupants during the time needed to evacuate. To provide a tenable environment for occupants during evacuation, I would recommend providing an engineering smoke control system complying with CBC Section 909 or providing a rated separation between Levels 1 and 2. I also recommend revisiting the location of combustibles in the lobby and main corridor of the building

Improving Facilities Lifecycle Management Using RFID Localization And BIM-Based Visual Analytics

Indoor localization has gained importance as it has the potential to improve various processes related to the lifecycle management of facilities, such as the manual search to find assets. In the operation and maintenance phase, the lack of standards for interoperability and the difficulties related to the processing of large amount of accumulated data from different sources cause several process inefficiencies. For example, identifying failure cause-effect patterns in order to prepare maintenance plans is difficult due to the complex interactions and interdependencies between different building components and the existence of the related data in multiple, fragmented sources. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is emerging as a method for creating, sharing, exchanging and managing the information throughout the lifecycle of buildings. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), on the other hand, has emerged as an automatic data collection technology, and has been used in different applications for the lifecycle management of facilities. The previous research of the author proposed permanently attaching RFID tags to assets where the memory of the tags is populated with their accumulated lifecycle information taken from a standard BIM database to enhance various lifecycle processes. This thesis builds on this framework and investigates several methods for supporting lifecycle management processes of assets by using BIM, RFID and visual analytics. It investigates the usage of location-related data that can be retrieved from a BIM and are stored on RFID tags. It also investigates the usage of RFID technology for indoor localization of RFID-equipped assets using handheld readers. The research proposes using the location data saved on the tags attached to fixed assets to locate them on the floor plan. These tags also act as reference tags to locate moveable assets using received signal pattern matching and clustering algorithms. Additionally, the research investigates extending BIM to incorporate RFID information. It provides the opportunity to interrelate BIM and RFID data using predefined relationships. For this purpose, a requirements’ gathering is performed to add new entities, data types, relationships, and property sets to the BIM. Moreover, the research investigates the potential of BIM visualization to help facilities managers make better decisions in the operation and maintenance phase of the lifecycle. It proposes a knowledge-assisted BIM-based visual analytics approach for failure root-cause detection in facilities management where various sources of lifecycle data are integrated with a BIM and used for interactive visualization exploiting the heuristic problem solving ability of field experts

Time domain analysis of switching transient fields in high voltage substations

Switching operations of circuit breakers and disconnect switches generate transient currents propagating along the substation busbars. At the moment of switching, the busbars temporarily acts as antennae radiating transient electromagnetic fields within the substations. The radiated fields may interfere and disrupt normal operations of electronic equipment used within the substation for measurement, control and communication purposes. Hence there is the need to fully characterise the substation electromagnetic environment as early as the design stage of substation planning and operation to ensure safe operations of the electronic equipment. This paper deals with the computation of transient electromagnetic fields due to switching within a high voltage air-insulated substation (AIS) using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) metho