This study proposes various methods to harvest the mechanical energy present in railcar suspensions and railroad tracks to generate electricity that is suitable for onboard or trackside electronics, using electromagnetic generators. Compact electromagnetic energy harvesters that can be installed onboard railcars or wayside on railroad tracks are designed, fabricated, and tested. The designs integrate a mechanical motion rectifier (MMR) with embedded one-way clutches in the bevel gears in order to convert the bi-directional mechanical energy that commonly exists in the form of vibrations into a unidirectional rotation of the generator. The ball screw mechanism is configured such that it has reduced backlash and thus can more efficiently harvest energy from low-amplitude vibrations. Two prototype harvesters are fabricated and tested extensively in the laboratory using a suspension dynamometer and in the field onboard a railcar and on a test track. A power management system with an energy storage circuit has also been developed for this onboard harvester. The laboratory evaluation indicate that the harvesters are capable of harvesting power with sufficient current and voltage for successfully powering light electronics or charging a low demand battery pack. The harvested power varies widely from a few to tens of Watts, depending on the resistive load across the harvester and the amplitude and frequency of the mechanical motion. The laboratory test results are verified through field testing. One harvester is tested onboard a freight railcar, placing it across the wedge suspension, to use the small amount of relative displacement at the wedge suspension to harvest energy. A second harvester is placed on a test track to use the vertical motion that occurs due to passing wheels for wayside energy harvesting. Both onboard and wayside tests confirm the laboratory test results in terms of the success of the design concept in providing low-power electrical power. The harvester design is further integrated into a conventional railroad tie for ease of field installation and for improving the efficiency of harvesting the mechanical energy at the rail. The integrated design, referred to as the "smart tie," not only protects the energy harvester, the wiring harness, and supporting electronics from the maintenance-of-the-way equipment, but also positions the harvester in a mechanically advantageous position that can maximize the track-induced motion, and hence the harvested power. Although for testing purposes, the smart tie uses a modified composite tie, it can be integrated into other track tie arrangements that are used for revenue service track, including concrete and wooden ties. A prototype smart tie is fabricated for laboratory testing, and the results nearly surpass the results obtained earlier from the wayside harvester. The smart tie is currently being considered for revenue service field testing over an extended length of time, potentially at a railroad mega site or similarly suitable location. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation proposes three different electromagnetic energy harvesters for harvesting railroad track and railcar suspension vibration energy. The concept is similar to what you may have seen in self-powering flashlights that are often advertised in late-night TV commercials. You shake the flashlight vigorously, which moves an energy harvester devoice and, Voila, the light bulb comes on. The device design in this study uses the mechanical energy that is present in a vehicle or at a railroad track to harvest the mechanical energy that is naturally present in the form of electrical energy, which can then be used for powering electronic devices and sensors of various kinds. Such sensors and electronics would help with improving the operational efficiency of railroads. The energy harvesters can be installed onboard a railcar or at the track. In either case, the movement of the train creates a small amount of vibration energy that is turned into electrical power. When onboard a train the power can be used for sensors, GPS, and similar devices to allow the operator to better monitor the condition and location of the train. Note that most railcars, especially the freight railcars, do not have any onboard electrical power. Similarly, the energy harvester can be installed at the track to convert the small amount of up and down motion that happens with the passing of each wheel into energy that could be used for integration of sensors that make the track "smarter." This means that the sensors can potentially alert the engineers who are responsible for monitoring the track of an existing or impending problem with the track. Both the railcar and track integration of the energy harvester that is designed, fabricated, and tested during this study are exciting concepts that can improve the rail industry in the U.S. This document includes the details of designing efficient energy harvesters, specifically for rail applications. A prototype of the energy harvester is fabricated and tested extensively in the lab and in the field, albeit to a more limited extent. The test results were quite successful, which is why I am telling you about them! Both the laboratory and field test results show that the device holds significant promise for rail applications.

While 5G energy harvesting makes 5G smart dust possible, stretching computation across power cycles affects cryptographic algorithms. This effect may lead to new security issues that make the system vulnerable to adversary attacks. Therefore, security measures are needed to protect data at rest and in transit across the network. In this paper, we identify the security requirements of existing 5G networks and the best-of-breed cryptographic algorithms for ultra-low SWaP devices in an energy harvesting context. To do this, we quantify the performance vs. energy tradespace, investigate the device features that impact the tradespace the most, and assess the security impact when the attacker has access to intermediate results. Our open-source energy-harvesting-tolerant versions of the cryptographic algorithms provide algorithm and device recommendations and ultra-low SWaP energy-harvesting-device-optimized versions of the cryptographic algorithms. / Master of Science / Smart dust is a network of tiny and energy-efficient devices that can gather data from the environment using various sensors, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors. These devices are extremely small, often as small as a grain of sand or smaller, and have numerous applications, including environmental monitoring, structural health monitoring, and military surveillance. One of the main challenges of smart dust is its small size and limited energy resources, making it challenging to power and process the collected data. However, advancements in energy harvesting and low-power computing are being developed to overcome these challenges. In the case of 5G, energy harvesting technologies can be used to power small sensors and devices that are part of the 5G network, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Examples of IoT devices are wearable fitness trackers, smart thermostats, security cameras, home automation systems, and industrial sensors. Since 5G energy harvesting impacts the daily lives of people using the relevant devices, our research seeks to find out what kind of measures are necessary to guarantee their security.

The proposed vibration energy harvesting IC harvests energy from a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) to provide power for a wireless sensor node (WSN). With a traditional rectification stage, a two-path three-switch dual-input dual-output architecture is adopted to extract power and regulate the output voltage for the load with one stage. The power stage is controlled with a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm, which integrates both fraction open circuit voltage (FOCV) and perturb and observe (PandO). The proposed algorithm was able to extract maximum power from a transducer due to high accuracy on the maxim power point (MPP) and low power dissipation. The proposed circuit is implemented in TSMC 180 nm BCD technology and the post-layout simulation verifies the functionality of the proposed design. The simulation results show that the circuit operates under the maximum power point to extract maximum power from a PZT. / Master of Science / The battery life has always been problematic ever since electronic devices exist. As semiconductor technology advances, more transistors could fit in the same area. Resultantly, portable, and mobile devices become more powerful but usually dissipate more power. Unfortunately, the development of the batteries has not been improved significantly. So, it is necessary to charge portable and mobile devices often or replace batteries frequently. In some applications where a device is hard to reach once installed, charging or replacing the battery is difficult. Under these circumstances, energy harvesting from ambient sources is an effective alternative. There are many types of sources of energy widely available in the environment such as vibration, thermal, solar, RF and etc. Solar energy harvesting is the most popular owing to high power density. However, sunlight is unavailable during night time. Vibration energy, although the power density is lower compared with solar, is a viable solution when solar is not a good source of energy. The proposed work utilizes abundant vibration energy at factories to power wireless sensor nodes (WSNs), which can monitor the temperature, light intensity, pressure, etc.

El concepto de entorno inteligente concibe un mundo donde los diferentes tipos de dispositivos inteligentes colaboran para conseguir un objetivo común. En este concepto, inteligencia hace referencia a la habilidad de adquirir conocimiento y aplicarlo de forma autónoma para conseguir el objetivo común, mientras que entorno hace referencia al mundo físico que nos rodea. Por tanto, un entorno inteligente se puede definir como aquel que adquiere conocimiento de su entorno y aplicándolo permite mejorar la experiencia de sus habitantes. La computación ubicua o generalizada permitirá que este concepto de entorno inteligente se haga realidad. Normalmente, el término de computación ubicua hace referencia al uso de dispositivos distribuidos por el mundo físico, pequeños y de bajo precio, que pueden comunicarse entre ellos y resolver un problema de forma colaborativa. Cuando esta comunicación se lleva a cabo de forma inalámbrica, estos dispositivos forman una red de sensores inalámbrica o en inglés, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Estas redes están atrayendo cada vez más atención debido al amplio espectro de aplicaciones que tienen, des de soluciones para el ámbito militar hasta aplicaciones para el gran consumo. Esta tesis se centra en las redes de sensores inalámbricas y subacuáticas o en inglés, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSN). Estas redes, a pesar de compartir los mismos principios que las WSN, tienen un medio de transmisión diferente que cambia su forma de comunicación de ondas de radio a ondas acústicas. Este cambio hace que ambas redes sean diferentes en muchos aspectos como el retardo de propagación, el ancho de banda disponible, el consumo de energía, etc. De hecho, las señales acústicas tienen una velocidad de propagación cinco órdenes de magnitud menor que las señales de radio. Por tanto, muchos algoritmos y protocolos necesitan adaptarse o incluso rediseñarse. Como el despliegue de este tipo de redes puede ser bastante complicado y caro, se debe planificar de forma precisa el hardware y los algoritmos que se necesitan. Con esta finalidad, las simulaciones pueden resultar una forma muy conveniente de probar todas las variables necesarias antes del despliegue de la aplicación. A pesar de eso, un nivel de precisión adecuado que permita extraer resultados y conclusiones confiables, solamente se puede conseguir utilizando modelos precisos y parámetros reales. Esta tesis propone un ecosistema para UWSN basado en herramientas libres y de código abierto. Este ecosistema se compone de un modelo de recolección de energía y unmodelo de unmódemde bajo coste y bajo consumo con un sistema de activación remota que, junto con otros modelos ya implementados en las herramientas, permite la realización de simulaciones precisas con datos ambientales del tiempo y de las condiciones marinas del lugar donde la aplicación objeto de estudio va a desplegarse. Seguidamente, este ecosistema se utiliza con éxito en el estudio y evaluación de diferentes protocolos de transmisión aplicados a una aplicación real de monitorización de una piscifactoría en la costa del mar Mediterráneo, que es parte de un proyecto de investigación español (CICYT CTM2011-2961-C02-01). Finalmente, utilizando el modelo de recolección de energía, esta plataforma de simulación se utiliza para medir los requisitos de energía de la aplicación y extraer las necesidades de hardware mínimas. / Climent Bayarri, JS. (2014). Contribution to Research on Underwater Sensor Networks Architectures by Means of Simulation [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/35328

As worldwide energy consumption continues to increase, so does the demand for renewable energy sources. The total available wave energy resource for the United States alone is 2,640 TWh/yr; nearly two thirds of the 4,000 TWh of electricity used in the United States each year. It is estimated that nearly half of that available energy is recoverable through wave energy conversion techniques. In this thesis, a two-body 'point absorber' type wave energy converter with a mechanical power-takeoff is investigated. The two-body wave energy converter extracts energy through the relative motion of a floating buoy and a neutrally buoyant submerged body. Using a linear frequency-domain model, analytical solutions of the optimal power and the corresponding power-takeoff components are derived for the two-body wave energy converter. Using these solutions, a case study is conducted to investigate the influence of the submerged body size on the absorbed power of the device in regular and irregular waves. Here it is found that an optimal mass ratio between the submerged body and floating buoy exists where the device will achieve resonance. Furthermore, a case study to investigate the influence of the submerged body shape on the absorbed power is conducted using a time-domain numerical model. Here it is found that the submerged body should be designed to reduce the effects of drag, but to maintain relatively large hydrodynamic added mass and excitation force. To validate the analytical and numerical models, a 1/30th scale model of a two-body wave energy converter is tested in a wave tank. The results of the wave tank tests show that the two-body wave energy converter can absorb nearly twice the energy of a single-body 'point absorber' type wave energy converter. / Master of Science / As worldwide energy consumption continues to increase, so does the demand for renewable energy sources. The total available wave energy resource for the United States alone is 2,640 TWh/yr; nearly two thirds of the 4,000 TWh of electricity used in the United States each year. It is estimated that nearly half of that available energy is recoverable through wave energy conversion techniques. By absorbing the motion of a wave, wave energy converters can turn that energy into useful electricity. A single-body ‘point absorber’ type wave energy converter consists of a floating buoy connected to the seabed by a mechanism called the power-takeoff. The power-takeoff converts the up and down motion of the floating buoy into rotation. A generator is connected to the power-takeoff, which produces useful electricity from the rotation. Issues with the size of the floating buoy, as well as connecting the floating buoy to the seabed, make this design economically impractical. Instead of connecting the floating buoy to the seabed, the floating buoy can be connected to an additional submerged body. In this thesis, optimization strategies were employed on the size and shape of the submerged body to determine theoretical power limits. Here it is found that an optimal mass ratio between the submerged body and floating buoy exists for a given wave profile. It is also found that the optimal shape of the submerged body is long cylindrical body, having a small surface area normal to the motion. A scale model experiment of a two-body wave energy converter was conducted to validate our theoretical models. The results of this experiment are in good agreement with the models, showing that an optimal mass ratio exists for a given wave profile, and that the two-body wave energy converter can absorb nearly twice the energy of a single-body ‘point absorber’ type wave energy converter.

Arctic Ocean monitoring with near-real-time data transfer is urgently needed. The harsh and remote conditions constraining year-round observation sites present significant logistical challenges and energy needs for sustained Arctic observations. The Arctic project group is attempting to design a mechanical structure to harvest energy from low-speed current in the Arctic Ocean. An Arctic energy harvesting system that consists of a transverse flux generator, boosted by a nozzle-diffuser-duct, and an American multiblade turbine that drives the generator, are designed in this study. The transverse flux generator is then optimized based on its design parameters and the optimization successfully improves the torque performance of the generator while maintaining the largest power output. The American turbine fits the extreme low-speed current condition (<0.2m/s) well and could support the rotation of the generator. Finally, the article compares the energy harvesting system is compared with the existing ones in the market and demonstrates its superior performance. / Master of Science / Arctic area has great potential and it is beneficial to monitor and do research in the Arctic area. The continuous energy could be a problem. The challenging and isolated conditions that limit the establishment of year-round observation stations pose significant logistical hurdles and energy requirements for continuous Arctic data collection. To address this, the Arctic project team is endeavoring to create a mechanical structure capable of harnessing energy from low-speed currents in the Arctic Ocean.

A new form of organic energy storage devices (organic capacitors) is presented in the first part of this dissertation. The storage devices are made out of an organic semiconductor material and charge storage elements from synthesized nanoparticles. The semiconducting polymer is obtained by blending poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (acrylic acid) in crystal state polymers with a known plasticizer; glycerol or sorbitol. Synthesized nanoparticles namely, zinc-oxide (ZnO), erbium (Er), cadmium sulfide (CdS), palladium (Pd) and silver-platinum (AgPt) were used as charge storage elements in fabrication of metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure. The organic semiconductor and synthesized nanoparticles are tested to evaluate and characterize their electrical performance and properties. Fabrication of the organic capacitors consisted of layer-by-layer deposition and thermal evaporation of the electrode terminals. Capacitance versus voltage (C-V) measurement tests were carried out to observe hysteresis loops with a window gate that would indicate the charging, discharging and storage characteristics. Experimental investigation of various integrated energy harvesting techniques combined with these organic based novel energy storage devices are performed in the second part of this dissertation. The source of the energy is the wind and is harvested by means of miniature wind turbines and vibrations, using piezoelectric transduction. In both cases, the generated electric charge is stored in these capacitors. The performance of the organic capacitors are evaluated through their comparison with commercial capacitors. The results show that the voltage produced from the two energy harvesters was high enough to store the harvested energy in the organic capacitors. The charge and energy levels of the organic capacitors are also reported. The third part of this dissertation focuses on harvesting energy from a self-induced flutter of a thin composite beam. The composite beam consisted of an MFC patch bonded near the clamped end and placed vertically in the center of a wind tunnel test section. The self sustaining energy harvesting from the unimorph composite beam is exploited. The effects of different operational parameters including the optimum angle of attack, wind speed and load resistance are determined. / Ph. D.

As traditional wireless systems that only operate on fixed frequency bands are reaching their capacity limits, advanced frequency-agile radio systems are developed for more efficient spectrum utilization. For example, white space radios dynamically leverage locally unused TV channels to provide high-speed long-distance connectivity. They have already been deployed to connect the unconnected in rural areas and developing countries. However, such application scenarios are still limited due to low commercial demand. Hence, exploring better applications for white space radios needs more effort. With the benefits come the threats. As frequency-agile radio systems (e.g., software-defined radios) are flexible and become extremely low-cost and small-sized, it is very convenient for attackers to build attacking tools and launch wireless attacks using these radios. For example, civilian GPS signals can be easily spoofed by low-cost portable spoofers built with frequency-agile radio systems. In this dissertation, we study both the threat and application of frequency-agile radio systems. Specifically, our work focuses on the spoofing threat of frequency-agile radio towards GPS-based systems and the application of TV white space radio for ocean communications. Firstly, we explore the feasibility of using frequency-agile radio to stealthily manipulate GPS-based road navigation systems without alerting human drivers. A novel attacking algorithm is proposed, where the frequency-agile radio transmits fake GPS signals to lead the victim to drive on a wrong path that looks very similar with the navigation route on the screen. The attack's feasibility is demonstrated with real-world taxi traces in Manhattan and Boston. We implement a low-cost portable GPS spoofer using an off-the-shelf frequency-agile radio platform to perform physical measurements and real-world driving tests, which shows the low level of difficulty of launching the attack in real road environment. In order to study human-in-the-loop factor, a deceptive user study is conducted and the results show that 95% of the users do not recognize the stealthy attack. Possible countermeasures are summarized and sensor fusion defense is explored with preliminary tests. Secondly, we study similar GPS spoofing attack in database-driven cognitive radio networks. In such a network, a secondary user queries the database for available spectrum based on its GPS location. By manipulating GPS locations of surrounding secondary users with a frequency-agile radio, an attacker can potentially cause serious primary user interference and denial-of-service to secondary users. The serious impact of such attacks is examined in simulations based on the WhiteSpaceFinder spectrum database. Inspired by the characteristics of the centralized system and the receiving capability of cognitive radios, a combination of three defense mechanisms are proposed to mitigate the location spoofing threat. Thirdly, we explore the feasibility of building TV white space radio based on frequency-agile radio platform to provide connectivity on the ocean. We design and implement a low-cost low-power white space router ($523, 12 watts) customized for maritime applications. Its communication capability is confirmed by field link measurements and ocean-surface wave propagation simulations. We propose to combine this radio with an energy harvesting buoy so that the radio can operate independently on the ocean and form a wireless mesh network with other similar radios. / PHD / As traditional wireless systems, such as mobile phones and WiFi access points, only operate on some fixed frequency bands, it becomes increasingly crowded for those popular bands. Hence, for more efficient frequency resource utilization, frequency-agile radio systems that can dynamically operate on different frequency bands are developed. With these new technologies come new threats and applications, which are the focus of our work. On the one hand, as frequency-agile radio systems become low-cost and portable, attackers can easily launch wireless attacks with them. For example, we explored the feasibility, impact, and countermeasures for GPS spoofing attacks using frequency-agile radio systems in different scenarios. In a GPS spoofing attack, an attacker transmits false GPS signals to manipulate users’ GPS receivers. This kind of attack can be very dangerous and even life-threatening if it is launched against critical GPS-based applications. For example, once GPS-based navigation systems in self-driving cars are stealthily manipulated by remote attackers, attackers can divert self-driving cars to pre-defined destinations or dangerous situations like wrong-way driving on highway. On the other hand, since there is rich under-utilized spectrum resource in remote areas with no broadband connection yet, frequency-agile radio systems can be used to provide broadband internet connectivity there. For example, based on frequency-agile radio platform, we developed a low-cost low-power wireless router that can dynamically operate on TV broadcasting band. It is able to provide high-speed wireless connection to a large area on the ocean. This technology has the potential to bring low-cost high-speed connection to people and industry on the ocean, which will facilitate various maritime applications.

The batteries used to power wireless sensor nodes have become a major roadblock for the wide deployment. Harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations using piezoelectric cantilevers provides possible means to recharge the batteries or eliminate them. Raw power harvested from ambient sources should be conditioned and regulated to a desired voltage level before its application to electronic devices. The efficiency and self-powered operation of a power conditioning and management circuit is a key design issue. In this research, we investigate the characteristics of piezoelectric cantilevers and requirements of power conditioning and management circuits. A two-stage conditioning circuit with a rectifier and a DC-DC converter is proposed to match the source impedance dynamically. Several low-power design methods are proposed to reduce power consumption of the circuit including: (i) use of a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) flyback converter, (ii) constant on-time modulation, and (iii) control of the clock frequency of a microcontroller unit (MCU). The DCM flyback converter behaves as a lossless resistor to match the source impedance for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The constant on-time modulation lowers the clock frequency of the MCU by more than an order of magnitude, which reduces dynamic power dissipation of the MCU. MPPT is executed by the MCU at intermittent time interval to save power. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system harvests up to 8.4 mW of power under 0.5-g base acceleration using four parallel piezoelectric cantilevers and achieves 72 percent power efficiency. Sources of power losses in the system are analyzed. The diode and the controller (specifically the MCU) are the two major sources for the power loss. In order to further improve the power efficiency, the power conditioning circuit is implemented in a monolithic IC using 0.18-μ­m CMOS process. Synchronous rectifiers instead of diodes are used to reduce the conduction loss. A mixed-signal control circuit is adopted to replace the MCU to realize the MPPT function. Simulation and experimental results verify the DCM operation of the power stage and function of the MPPT circuit. The power consumption of the mixed-signal control circuit is reduced to 16 percent of that of the MCU. / Ph. D.

Unsteady aerodynamic modeling is indispensable in the design process of rotary air vehicles, flapping flight and agile unmanned aerial vehicles. Undesirable vibrations can cause high-frequency variations in motion variables whose effects cannot be well predicted using quasi-steady aerodynamics. Furthermore, one may exploit the lift enhancement that can be generated through an unsteady motion for optimum design of flapping vehicles. Additionally, undesirable phenomena like the flutter of fixed wings and ensuing limit cycle oscillations can be exploited for harvesting energy. In this dissertation, we focus on modeling the unsteady nonlinear aerodynamic response and present various applications where unsteady aerodynamics are very relevant. The dissertation starts with experiments for measuring unsteady loads on an NACA-0012 airfoil undergoing a plunging motion under various operating conditions. We supplement these measurements with flow visualization to obtain better insight into phenomena causing enhanced lift. For the model, we present the frequency response function for the airfoil at various angles of attack. Experiments were performed at reduced frequencies between 0.1 and 0.95 and angles of attack up to 65 degrees. Then, we formulate an optimization problem to unify the transfer function coefficients for each regime independently to obtain one model that represents the global dynamics. An optimization-based finite-dimensional (fourth-order) approximation for the frequency responses is developed. Converting these models to state-space form and writing the entries of the matrices as polynomials in the mean angle of attack, a unified unsteady model was developed. In the second set of experiments, we measured the unsteady plunging forces on the same airfoil at zero forward velocity. The aim is to investigate variations of the added forces associated with the oscillation frequency of the wing section for various angles of attack. Data of the measured forces are presented and compared with predicted forces from potential flow approximations. The results show a significant departure from those estimates, especially at high frequencies indicating that viscous effects play a major role in determining these forces. In the second part of this dissertation, we consider different applications where unsteady loads and nonlinear effects play an important role. We perform a multi-objective aerodynamic optimization problem of the wing kinematics and planform shape of a Pterosaur replica ornithopter. The objective functions included minimization of the required cycle-averaged aerodynamic power and maximization of the propulsive efficiency. The results show that there is an optimum kinematic parameter as well as planform shape to fulfill the two objectives. Furthermore, the effects of preset angle of attack, wind speed and load resistance on the levels of harvested power from a composite beam bonded with the piezoelectric patch are determined experimentally. The results point to a complex relation between the aerodynamic loading and its impact on the static deflection and amplitudes of the limit cycle oscillations as well as the level of power harvested. This is followed by testing of a centimeter scale micro wind turbine that has been proposed to power small devices and to work as a micro energy harvester. The experimental measurements are compared to predicted values from a numerical model. The methods developed in this dissertation provide a systematic approach to identifying unsteady aerodynamic models from numerical or experimental data that may work within different regimes. The resulting reduced-order models are expressed in a state-space form, and they are, therefore, both simple and efficient. These models are low-dimensional linear systems of ordinary differential equations so that they are compatible with modern flight dynamic models. The specific form of the obtained added force model, which defines the added forces as a function of plunging velocity and drag forces, guarantees that the resulting model is accurate over a range of high frequencies. Moreover, presented applications give a sense of the broad range of application of unsteady aerodynamics. / Ph. D.