Wireless Sensing and

Communication Capabilities
from In-Core to a
Monitoring Center
August 2020

James A. Smith, Idaho National Laboratory

Chengying “Cheryl” Xu, North Carolina State University
Yiming Deng, Michigan State University
Koushik A. Manjunatha, Idaho National Laboratory
Vivek Agarwal, Idaho National Laboratory

INL is a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Battelle Energy Alliance,
LLC
 DISCLAIMER
This information was prepared as an account of work sponsored by
an agency of the U.S. Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor any
agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty,
expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for
the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness, of any information, apparatus,
product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe
privately owned rights. References herein to any specific commercial
product, process, or service by trade name, trade mark, manufacturer, or
otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency
thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not
necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency
thereof.
Wireless Sensing and Communication Capabilities
from In-Core to a Monitoring Center

James A. Smith, Idaho National Laboratory

Chengying “Cheryl” Xu, North Carolina State University
Yiming Deng, Michigan State University
Koushik A. Manjunatha, Idaho National Laboratory
Vivek Agarwal, Idaho National Laboratory

June 2020

Idaho National Laboratory

Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415

http://www.inl.gov

Prepared for the

U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Nuclear Energy
Under DOE Idaho Operations Office
Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517
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 SUMMARY
There is an opportunity to achieve significant cost reduction if electrical cables are replaced by
wireless technologies in current nuclear power plants (NPPs) and are part of advanced reactor designs.
Wireless technology can also provide in-core opportunities by significantly reducing the number of
penetrations in the pressure vessel, reducing the cost and complexity of sensor installation, and increasing
the efficiency of current and advanced reactors. Unlike in other deployment scenarios for industrial
environments, operators need centralized control over all the networks. Centralized control will reduce
implementation costs, provide single-point control, enable the monitoring of network devices, improve
security, and enhance connectivity.
Micro-sensors that simultaneously monitor temperature and pressure within NPP fuel rods will help
foster preventative actions during abnormal operating conditions. This could avert accidents and enable
expedient development of accident-tolerant fuels. A novel micro-sensor suite (~ mm) to simultaneously
measure multiple parameters such as temperature, strain, pressure, and neutron/gamma flux inside fuel
rods is being developed for use in reactors. The necessary communication architecture is also being
developed to transmit measurement signals from the core to the plant’s data cloud or control room.
A three-tier strategy has been developed to support wireless transmission of in-core measurements to
the control room or secure cloud platform for control, analytics, and decision-making purposes.
1. In-core: data signal from in-core to outside the pressure vessel within the containment building
2. Containment building: data signal from inside the containment building to the outside, and on
into the balance of the plant network
3. Balance of the plant network: information related to structures, systems, and components on the
balance of plant side transmitted to the data cloud and control room.
This report presents a review of wireless sensing and communication systems for use both within a
reactor core and elsewhere. The communication technology is advantageous in terms of compensating for
network equipment failures and adverse data transmission conditions. Wireless technology will
significantly increase the resiliency of plants’ network systems. The wireless system naturally provides
multi-path transmission capability and data redundancy.
Ceramic-based high-temperature sensors that are wireless and passively powered will be integrated
into communication networks to enable delivery of in-core measurements to a cloud database and data-
processing center. The system will provide real-time sensing for in-core nuclear applications subject to
high-temperature, high-pressure, high-radiation fluxes and oxidation challenges. This requires sensors
that are robust with respect to high-radiation and high-temperature environments. The goal is to collect
real-time information from sensors located throughout the reactor, so the reactor core and fuel elements
within can be monitored cost-effectively via precise, localized measurements. The high-temperature- and
radiation-resistant sensors will be suitable for a variety of reactor types (e.g., light-water reactors [LWRs],
gas reactors, etc.). This report, however, focuses on LWR applications, since the advanced reactors are in
the initial design phase and subject to significant design changes. The sensing techniques in this report
focus on electromagnetic (EM) techniques, and conductive coolants such as molten salt or liquid metal
afford significant challenges for EM transmission.
Polymer-Derived Ceramic (PDC) sensor materials seem particularly promising. One advantage of
PDC sensors is their multi-sensing capability for simultaneously measuring temperature, pressure, strain,
and other parameters. The sensors will be frequency multiplexed thanks to micro-patch antennas designed
to resonate within different frequency bands. An advanced communication system will be developed in
which multiple sensors can be interrogated directly and in parallel. An appropriate amount of radio
frequency (RF) power can be radiated using the transceiver antenna to actuate the passive radio frequency

iii
identification (RFID) sensor node at an estimated minimum required power level of 0.363 mW at 5 GHz.
The range of the RFID sensor to the transceiver antenna is expected to be on the order of meters.
Instrumentation to demodulate, process, and digitize the data will be located in a more hospitable
environment within the containment building.
The complexity and layered construction of the containment wall will make it extremely difficult to
transmit wireless signals out of the containment building. The steel, gastight lining acts as a Faraday cage,
making standard RF transmission impractical. The reinforced concrete is highly attenuative to ultrasound.
While communication techniques may be developed independently for each separate layer, combining the
wall layers drastically increases the difficulty of transmission. The difficulty in transmitting signals out of
the containment building provides ample research opportunities and is outside of the scope of this report.
Although it is appealing to keep the transmission system wireless, multi-layer containment walls
significantly impede through-wall signal transmission. Even if through-wall technology is successful, this
cutting-edge technology still needs to compete with wired/cable transmission on both a practical and an
economic basis. The major impediments to using cabled transmission are the costs of installing/routing
the cables and their vulnerability to mishaps caused during normal plant operations and maintenance. For
applications in the containment building, the impediments to using cables are significantly reduced. The
run for a single cable would be relatively short—on the order of 500 ft—and the potential for mishap is
reduced by being within a limited space indoors.
The reliability of wired cables is impressive. Electrical cables have performed safely for longer than
the 40-year planned lifetime of the typical NPP, with few age-related cable failures recorded. It would be
difficult for other forms of instrumentation to match the operating lifetimes and low maintenance afforded
by electrical cables. A single cable’s 30-GHz communication bandwidth would be sufficient to transfer
all of the required monitoring data. Adding a single cable to the existing electrical trays and feedthroughs
should be feasible and would make for a reasonable compromise. The ultimate decision will be based on
the engineering tradeoffs necessary in making the upgrades. For advanced reactors still being designed,
the possibilities for wireless are unlimited, as the transmission systems can be creatively built into the
reactor structures.
To meet the plant’s goals, wireless sensing and communication system development will be phased
according to the following stages. The individual technologies, RFID sensors and infrastructure, and the
balance of the plant communication network are currently at Technology Readiness Level -4 (TRL-4).
Each technology will require modification to integrate with the other technologies.
 RF sensors will need to be integrated into the RFID infrastructure.
 The RFID infrastructure will be integrated with the balance of the plant network.
 TRL-4 testing will be conducted for the fully integrated wireless sensing and communication
system.
At every stage, the sensing system will be tested to ensure measurement quality and the efficiency of
the communication systems. From the initial sensor stage consisting of lab RFID instrumentation to TRL-
4 testing of the fully integrated system, all subsystems and integrated systems will be quality-tested.
As part of the path forward, the RFID infrastructure will be designed to multiplex multiple sensors.
The multiplexed system with at least six multiplexed sensors will be designed and benchmarked against
industry-standard thermocouples. The passive RFID sensor will be located at a range of 0.1–1 m from the
transceiver antenna submerged in water to test the RF interrogator’s communication range and sensing
capability to simulate in-core conditions. Temperature testing will occur in furnaces located at the various
facilities where development and integration take place. The fully integrated system will be tested at TRL-
4 using an autoclave within INL’s High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL).

iv
 Although the great challenge is to take in-place and real time measurements inside fuel rods within an
NPP, the goal of the implementation plan is to develop a fully integrated wireless sensing and
communication system to TRL-4. This system will be installed at HTTL, and the signal relay will be
connected to INL’s wireless link. The measurement data will then be transmitted to a cloud database
housed in another building several blocks away. As part of the system testing, end-to-end performance,
network delay, and the quality of the received data will be analyzed using INL’s distributed antenna
system test bed located in the Human System Simulation Laboratory. The RFID sensors will also be
benchmarked against traditional wired sensors.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was made possible through funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy
Enabling Technologies Program. We are grateful to Suibel Schuppner at the U.S. Department of Energy
as well as Craig Primer and Pattrick Calderoni at Idaho National Laboratory for championing this effort.
We thank John M. Shaver and Lisa Wells at INL for technical editing and formatting of the document as
well as Deepak Kumar, a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University.

vii
 CONTENTS
SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................................................................vii
ACRONYMS.....................................................................................................................................................xii
1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1
2. WIRELESS SENSING BACKGROUND...............................................................................................2
2.1 Radiation Experiment Motivation.................................................................................................3
3. PASSIVE MONITORING AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTURE.................. 3
4. RFID SENSOR RUGGEDIZATION FOR HARSH ENVIRONMENTS............................................ 8
4.1 Plan for Field-Deployable Sensor and Signal Transmission.......................................................8
4.2 Design Objective..........................................................................................................................11
4.3 Properties of Polymer-Derived Ceramics...................................................................................12
4.3.1 Unique and tunable semiconducting behavior for temperature measurement........... 12
4.3.2 High piezoresistivity for pressure measurement.......................................................... 13
4.3.3 Excellent thermo-mechanical properties at up to 1500oC for high-temperature
survivability.................................................................................................................... 14
4.3.4 Probable high radiation resistance for irradiation survivability.................................. 15
4.3.5 Micro-fabrication capability to ensure low-cost mass production of the proposed
sensor suite......................................................................................................................15
4.4 Research Tasks.............................................................................................................................15
4.4.1
Task 1: Developing PDC material with desired electrical properties for accurate
sensor measurement....................................................................................................... 15
4.4.2 Task 2: Designing and fabricating the sensor suite for simultaneous temperature and
pressure measurements.................................................................................................. 15
4.4.3 Simultaneous temperature and pressure measurements...............................................16
4.4.4 Signal conditioning system and wireless transmission................................................17
5. ELECTROMAGNETIC COUPLING................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Inductive Coupling Implementation........................................................................................... 18
5.2 Radio Frequency Modulator Implementation............................................................................ 20
6. WIRELESS SENSOR INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................. 22
6.1 LWR Installation Concepts......................................................................................................... 22
7. TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL FROM CONTAINMENT.................................................................. 24
7.1 Structural Details of the Containment Building.........................................................................25
7.2 Through-Wall Transmission Research....................................................................................... 26
7.3 Using a Fluid Transmission Path................................................................................................ 26
7.4 Electrical Cable for Containment Transmission........................................................................ 26

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8. TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL FROM THE BALANCE OF THE PLANT...................................... 27
8.1 Network Architecture.................................................................................................................. 28
8.2 Distributed Antenna System....................................................................................................... 28
8.3 Wireless Local Area Networks................................................................................................... 29
8.4 Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Band Technologies.............................................................30
8.5 Relay/Repeater Configuration.....................................................................................................30
9. WIRELESS PLAN GOING FORWARD..............................................................................................32
9.1 RFID Sensing Infrastructure....................................................................................................... 32
9.2 Balance of the Plant Network..................................................................................................... 34
10. WIRELESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP....................................................... 35
10.1 Sensor Integration........................................................................................................................ 36
10.2 Wireless Communication from Inside the RPV.........................................................................36
11. REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................ 38

FIGURES
Figure 1. Three-tier strategy to support wireless transmission of in-core measurements to the
control room or secure cloud platform for control, analytics, and decision-making
purposes. The wireless system naturally provides multiple transmission path capability
and data redundancy...........................................................................................................................2
Figure 2. Battery-less wireless sensing and communication network for NPPs. Numerous sensing
nodes installed around the facility over the next several decades can be interrogated
wirelessly............................................................................................................................................ 4
Figure 3. Fully assembled 3D-printed pressure sensor with component annotation and
dimensions.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 4. (Left) Pressurized pipeline setup with a harmonic RF sensor tag for real-time wireless
pressure monitoring. (Right) Wirelessly measured phase change due to applied
pressure............................................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 5. Frequency change of temperature and luminescence sensors with (A) linear fit and (B)
second-order polynomial fit...............................................................................................................6
Figure 6. (Left) Frequency spectrum of the demodulated sensor data. (Right) Wireless
demonstration with 9-dBm transmitted power at 908 MHz, showing received sensor
information in a time domain with a switching frequency of 6 kHz (~160 µs)............................. 7
Figure 7. Schematic diagram of the LWR-2 fuel rodlet and capsule assembly for ATR irradiation.
Dimensions are in inches................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 8. Typical oxide fuel drop-in capsule configuration (zoom-in: the sensor suite is “hung”
inside the rodlet by an electrical feedthrough in the cap).............................................................. 10
Figure 9. Schematic diagram showing the proposed sensor-transmitter system...........................................11
Figure 10. Processing steps for synthesizing polymer-derived ceramics [21, 22]........................................ 12

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Figure 11. Electrical conductivity of a PDC as a function of temperature.................................................... 13
Figure 12. Electrical conductivity of PDCs as a function of composition.....................................................13
Figure 13. Electrical resistance as a function of applied stress [28].............................................................. 14
Figure 14. Scanning electron microscope images of the surfaces of (a) typical silicon-based
ceramics after heat-treatment in water vapor and/or NaCl-containing environments, (b)
PDCs after annealing at 1400oC for 300 hrs in 50% H2O-50% O2, and (c) PDCs after
annealing at 1200oC for 50 hrs in a NaCl-containing environment [29]...................................... 14
Figure 15. PDC sensors and reference thermocouple..................................................................................... 16
Figure 16. Signal conditioning circuit for a temperature sensor.................................................................... 16
Figure 17. The inductive-sensor system design used in the MITR (redrawn from Carvajal et al.)
[41].................................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 18. The self-powered detector signal is used to modulate an AM transmitter built from
VME components and transmitted to a data acquisition system outside the reactor
(redrawn from [44])..........................................................................................................................20
Figure 19. Experimental implementation of the wireless transmission system in the Breazeale
Reactor, showing the external powering of the transmitters and the wired delivery of
the SPD signal. The antennas were eventually replaced by cable connections due to
intermittent signal transmission (redrawn from [41]).................................................................... 21
Figure 20. Representative fuel-element schematic showing how the ends of the fuel rods are
accessed. (Graphic redrawn courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy.).................................. 22
Figure 21. Schematic of the installation of the rod cluster assembly onto the fuel element,
showing the EM shadowing of the fuel rod caps. The rod cluster control assembly
shields flow orifices in the top nozzle from the transceiver located at the top of the
reactor. However, the rod cluster does provide an opportunity to bring a transceiver
closer to the fuel rods by routing it through the shaft of the control assembly. (Photo
redrawn from Areva: https://www.sfen.org/sites/default/files/public/atoms/files/2012-
markus_birkhofer_areva_the_importance_of_the_fuel_design.pdf.)........................................... 23
Figure 22. Schematic of the installation of the top nozzle onto the fuel element, showing EM
shadowing of the fuel rod caps. Flow orifices in the top nozzle provide possible EM
transmission paths. (Photo redrawn from Areva:
https://www.sfen.org/sites/default/files/public/atoms/files/2012-
markus_birkhofer_areva_the_importance_of_the_fuel_design.pdf.)........................................... 24
Figure 23. Schematic of a boiling-water reactor, showing the containment building. Figure
courtesy of NRC [51]....................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 24. Envisioned DAS wireless network architecture for NPP automation..........................................28
Figure 25. DAS testbed installation at INL's Human System Simulation Lab. Left: MPROU,
Right: BU.......................................................................................................................................... 29
Figure 26. Schematic of an RF interrogator for wireless communication with the passive RF
sensor node and the relaying of information to the balance of the plant network....................... 33
Figure 27. Data flow from the reactor core to the cloud using the balance of the plant network................ 34
Figure. 28. Simplified model of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel and the eight battery-less
sensing nodes integrated inside featuring radiation-hardened electronics and high-

x
 temperature sensors.......................................................................................................................... 36
Figure 29. Acoustic interrogator for wirelessly communicating inside the RPV..........................................37
Figure 30. Architecture of the battery-less sensing node with a wireless acoustic communication
system................................................................................................................................................37

TABLES
Table 1. Comparison of different wireless technologies.................................................................................31

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 ACRONYMS

AE Antenna elements

AP Access points

ATR Advanced Test Reactor

BSI Base station interface

CCPT Capacitively coupled power transfer

DAS Distributed antenna system

EM Electromagnetic

EU Expansion unit

HetNet Heterogeneous networks

HTTL High Temperature Test Laboratory

IoT Internet of Things

ISM Industrial, scientific, and medical

LoRaWan Long-range wide-area networks

LTE Long-Term Evolution

LWR Light-water reactor

LWRS Light-water reactor safety

MAC Media Access Control

MODEM Modulator-demodulator

MPROU Mid-Power Remote Optic Unit

MSU Michigan State University

MU Main unit

MU-MIMO Multi-user multi-input multi-output

NPP Nuclear power plant

ODU Optical Distribution Unit

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OFDMA Orthogonal frequency division multiple access

PDC Poly-derived ceramic

QoS Quality of service

RF Radio frequency

RFID Radio frequency identification

RPV Reactor pressure vessel

RU Remote unit

SDR Software-defined ratio

SNR Signal-to-noise ratio

SPD Self-powered detector

TRL Technology readiness level

VME Vacuum micro-electronic

WLAN Wireless local area networks

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xiv
Wireless Sensing and Communication Capability from
In-Core to a Monitoring Center
1. INTRODUCTION
Electrical cables are part of the structures, systems, and components that play a vital role in the safe
and reliable operation of the current fleet of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Cable failures, though rare, are
serious events needing to be prevented. Cables are designed to last many decades under normal operating
conditions, and they generally do so. Cables are included in regularly scheduled tests for NPP systems
and active devices. Degradation of electrical insulation and other cable components over the last 60 years
is of crucial concern. Such degradation may cause failure in the installed cables and prevent NPPs from
operating safely and reliably for another 40 years beyond their initial qualified operating life. The cost of
laying and maintaining cables in NPPs is significant.
A typical NPP has more than 1,000 km of cables relating to power, control, instrumentation, etc.,
within the plant. It is not feasible to replace or inspect all these cables. Effective guidelines that rely on
sampling and screening of cables have been put in place as part of ageing management plant and are
evolving. Cables are tested based on accessibility, risk, history, and other factors. Because of the diverse
array of cables and operating conditions, multiple tests must be performed to ensure a cable’s reliability.
It is imperative that degraded cables are accurately identified and repaired or replaced prior to the end of
their safe operating lives. Ageing cable management programs include a database of cables
selected—based on accessibility, risk, and environmental considerations—for testing and trending via the
appropriate cable characterization technique.
Significant cost savings can be made if cables are replaced by wireless technologies in current NPPs
and included as part of advanced-reactor designs. Wireless technology can also provide in-core
opportunities by significantly minimizing the number of penetrations into the pressure vessel, reducing
the cost and complexity of sensor installation, and increasing the efficiency of current and advanced
reactors. A three-tier strategy is developed to support wireless transmission of in-core measurements to
the control room or a secure cloud platform for control, analytics, and decision-making purposes:
 In-core: data signal from in-core to outside the pressure vessel within the containment building
 Containment building: data signal from inside the containment building to the outside, and on
into the balance of the plant network
 Balance of the plant network: information transmitted to the data cloud and monitoring center
The core of this report is organized according to the three-tier wireless strategy outlined in Figure 1.
A review of the motivation and background for wireless sensing is given, leading to a dialog on radio
frequency identification (RFID) wireless measurement architecture. Polymer-derived ceramic (PDC)
sensors designed for in-core sensing and used in the wireless measurement architecture are then described
next. Alternate electromagnetic (EM) measurement techniques for communicating through metal
containers are then discussed. Since the basics of RFID and EM sensing techniques have already been
explored, an exemplary in-core light-water reactor (LWR) application will be covered as a way of
transmitting in-core measurements out of the reactor pressure vessel. Once the measurement signal is
outside the reactor vessel, the ensuing discussion encompasses research on how data can be transmitted
out of the containment building. Once the signal is out of the containment building, the dialog focuses on
the communication infrastructure for transmitting the measurement signals to the balance of the plant
network and over to the NPP data cloud or control room. Since all the proposed technologies presented
here are at Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL-4), an integration plan will be discussed for fully
integrating a wireless sensing and communication system. A novel self-powered ultrasonic
communication system is also discussed for transmitting data through the pressure vessel wall.

i
 In-core Containment Balance Control Room/
sensor signal Structure of Plant Data Cloud

Typical Multi-layer
- Gas tight shell
- Projectile shield
*Image from: https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/light-water-reactor-sustainability-lwrs-program
3

Figure 1. Three-tier strategy to support wireless transmission of in-core measurements to the control room
or secure cloud platform for control, analytics, and decision-making purposes. The wireless system
naturally provides multiple transmission path capability and data redundancy.

2. WIRELESS SENSING BACKGROUND

Process- and structural-monitoring systems are commonly used to assess the status and states of
processes and structures during operations. Monitoring systems can be found in commercial processes, as
well as in a number of common structures such as aircrafts, ships, and civil structures—not to mention
nuclear reactors. Monitoring systems are tasked with gathering measurements from sensors mounted
within the process or structure of interest. The gathered data are then mostly stored in a centralized
database. To ensure that the data are reliably transmitted, monitoring systems generally use cabled wires
to receive the signal transmissions from the sensors. Though cabled wires can be dependable transmission
links, cable installation in processes and structures is costly and labor-intensive. When wired monitoring
systems expand (increase in sensor number), their expenses can increase at a higher, non-linear rate.
To remove the inherent limitations in using wired sensing technologies, researchers are developing
new technologies to transform process- and structural-monitoring methods. Wireless sensing [1–5] can
advance the implementation of “smart” processes and structures by cost-effectively enabling the creation
of large sensor networks. Wireless sensor development was originally driven by anticipated cost-related
benefits. The abolition of long lengths of cabled wires in a process or structure keeps installation costs
manageable. To effectively use sensors contained within a closed metal component under harsh
conditions such as high temperatures, high pressure, high radiation, or limited volume, wireless
transmission of data and power can be utilized. Concurrent transfer of data and power throughout the
container volume will enable cost-effective sensor installation. The cost-effectiveness of wireless
monitoring systems will enable large number of sensor node densities compared to tethered monitoring
systems. The ability to have a larger number of sensors at more salient locations fosters enhanced
condition-monitoring and state-of-health assessments for processes and structures. Wireless technology
will significantly increase the resiliency of plants’ networked communication systems and naturally
provide multiple transmission path capability and data redundancy.
Active wireless sensors that rely on internal energy sources for power restrict the application of
wireless monitoring. Power consumption is a significant constraint for wireless sensors powered by
batteries. Battery-based wireless sensor nodes are expensive, require timely maintenance, and are
complex for in situ monitoring. For nuclear applications, areas exist in which batteries are a hazard.

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Therefore, a battery-less (passive) wireless sensing technology is needed. Currently, RFID sensing is the
only wirelessly powered communication technology. RFID sensors receive radio energy transmitted in
the form of a continuous wave from a remote interrogator, and they reflect the identification and sensing
information back to the receiver. The battery-less nature of RFID sensors makes them economical for
large-scale integration, maintenance-free, and less complex, with compact, flexible packaging.
2.1 Radiation Experiment Motivation
Micro-sensors that simultaneously monitor the temperature and pressure of the fuel rod cladding in
nuclear systems will enable preventative actions during abnormal operating conditions, thus averting
accidents and fostering development of accident-tolerant fuels. The main challenge in developing such
sensors is that they must be able to operate for long periods under harsh reactor conditions, including high
temperatures (up to 1500 K), high pressure, and high levels of radiation damage. Current sensing
materials suffer severe structural and functional degradations when exposed to high-temperature and
radiation in a reactor environment, thus losing their sensing capability. A novel micro-sensor suite (~
mm) that utilizes PDC materials for simultaneously measure multiple parameters such as temperature,
strain, pressure, and neutron/gamma flux inside the fuel rod cladding in nuclear reactors is being
considered.
Design times for nuclear fuels are legendary amongst the scientific community. The main culprit for
the long design times is the “cooling off period,” measured in years, that irradiated nuclear fuels must go
through before being handled. The fuel sits in a “cooling” pool until the fuel rods can be transferred to a
nuclear facility for post-irradiation examination of the fuel. The transfer process and hot cell coordination
also add months just to be able to open the fuel cladding to characterize the fuel performance. To speed
up the design process, a series of experiments are planned far in advance so the fuel can be “cooked”
under various conditions and “looked” at years later. Thus far, this is the only approach available to fuel
designers. However, unexpected events and transients do occur in the reactor and within the
experiment. These unplanned conditions can have unknown consequences on the fuel. It will take fuel
designers an average of 2.5 years to cut open the fuel cladding and determine what happened, then
another year to plan and redo the experiment. All in all, it will take six years to complete the study or
perhaps reach the decision to do without the data entirely.
Even a simple temperature measurement would be helpful for understanding fuel performance, as
temperature plays a large role in the lifetime of a fuel assembly. However, current in-pile temperature-
sensing technologies such as melt wires and silicon carbide bars reside within the fuel cladding and are
not accessed until the cladding is cut open 2.5 years later. The proposed micro-sensor suite for
simultaneous temperature and pressure measurements addresses the limitations of current state-of-the-art
“cook & look” measurement technology by utilizing wireless sensors to provide real-time in-pile data
collected at a sampling rate of at least 10 Hz. Real-time monitoring of the fuel will dramatically reduce
the development time and costs for new fuels. If researchers know the fuel did not reach the desired
operating temperature, experimental/reactor parameters may be adjusted; or the researchers can start
planning a new experiment before the fuel is removed. These steps would save at least 2.5 years on the
development timeline. Wireless signal transfer can also be used to increase operating efficiencies, reduce
run time, and ascertain state awareness of fuel health under harsh operating conditions in commercial
power reactors.
3. PASSIVE MONITORING AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
ARCHITECTURE
Next-generation advanced monitoring systems for NPPs should be developed based on a battery-less
RFID wireless communication architecture [1–6]. The passive RFID system does not require an onboard
powering mechanism, yet flawlessly communicates ID information at a wireless range of up to tens of
meters. The same fundamental principle can be applied to wireless communication of real-time sensing

iii
information from position “A” to position “B.”
A number of parameters (e.g., pressure, temperature, current, flow, strain, vibration, radiation, etc.)
must be continuously monitored for the safe, reliable operation of an NPP [7]. However, current
monitoring systems are either wired or active (battery-operated) wireless, as well as unsustainable and in
need of routine maintenance. Battery-less wireless sensing and communication is the holy grail in terms
of being an optimized monitoring solution that also reduces deployment time and operational costs.
Moreover, it allows for dense sensor integration, leading to high-resolution monitoring. Figure 2 shows
the passive wireless sensing and communication architecture.

Figure 2. Battery-less wireless sensing and communication network for NPPs. Numerous sensing nodes
installed around the facility over the next several decades can be interrogated wirelessly.

Integration of any sensor with an RFID tag proved very challenging, requiring decades of research to
create a practical sensing system for potential use in an industrial facility [8–9]. The primary challenge
was to reduce the sensor’s power requirements and develop a coupling (sensing plus communication)
mechanism that staged the requirement of power efficiency. The low power requirement is directly
proportional to the longer communication range of battery-less systems. A power-efficient, single- or
multi-sensor integrable platform is designed to communicate the ID and sensing information when
applied for monitoring purposes. The information is fundamentally transferred by manipulating the
amplitude, phase, or frequency of the radio signal via a process called “modulation.” In this report, two
topologies are discussed for battery-less wireless communication, demonstrating power-efficient phase-
and frequency-modulation techniques for passive radio-frequency (RF) tags and illustrating the
capabilities of single- or multi-sensor integration.
First topology [10]: An efficient, passive, wireless harmonic communication system is shown for real-
time monitoring of pressurized pipelines. A pressure sensor is fabricated using additive manufacturing
techniques, and a harmonic RFID tag operates at the fundamental frequency (fo) of 2 GHz, shifting the
phase of the back-reflected RF signal according to the applied pressure. Power-efficient phase modulation
with virtually no losses is achieved using a hybrid coupler-based phase shifter to efficiently reflect back
the incoming signal using an end-coupled reactive impedance element/sensor. The phase delay introduced
by the reactive element is doubled with the second harmonic communication, increasing the sensitivity by
a factor of two. The concept of harmonic backscattering is exploited to reduce the effects of multi-path
interference and self-jamming, as well as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

iv
Figure 3. Fully assembled 3D-printed pressure sensor with component annotation and dimensions.

Figure 4. (Left) Pressurized pipeline setup with a harmonic RF sensor tag for real-time wireless pressure
monitoring. (Right) Wirelessly measured phase change due to applied pressure.

A low-cost, 3D-printed pressure sensor and passive wireless sensing mechanism worked for
monitoring the structural integrity of the gas pipelines, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The developed

harmonic pressure sensing system has good sensitivity (1) to reactive impedance, better linearity (R2 =

0.9915), a higher SNR, lower modulation losses, and a longer communication range. Harmonic
communication eliminates self-jamming, reduces multi-path interference, and doubles the measurement
sensitivity (phase change) due to applied pressure. The developed long-range wireless sensing platform
enables continuous, safe, reliable, real-time monitoring of the pipeline and provides a cost-efficient
solution for energy production plant operations.
Second topology [11]: A power-efficient, passive, analog-frequency-modulation-based RF system
that enables real-time communication via multiple sensor elements for internet-of-things (IoT)-based
smart applications. The designed battery-less RF tag with integrated sensors uses an onboard ultra-low-

v
power oscillator to generate a single-frequency modulation signal unique to each sensor element. The
generated single-tone frequency is modulated to the backscattered RF signal, which is immune to the
interference in the propagating environment. The power required for continuous operation of the sensing
oscillator is 30 µW, harvested from the received RF signal. The designed multi-sensor RF tag has a
sensitivity of −6 dBm and can integrate up to six different sensors within the available single-channel
RFID bandwidth of 300 kHz. A wireless communication distance of 10 ft is achieved via the low power
consumption of the multi-sensor RF tag. A passive RF tag with two example sensing
elements—temperature and luminescence—was demonstrated, as shown in Figure 5. The temperature
change from 25 to 60oC and the luminescence change from 0 to 20 foot-candle (lumen/ft2) is represented
by a 75–100 kHz and a 125–150 kHz frequency range, respectively.

Figure 5. Frequency change of temperature and luminescence sensors with (A) linear fit and (B) second-
order polynomial fit.

The temperature and luminescence sensors reflect back the information signal in the form of
modulated sideband frequencies. The received frequencies for the temperature and luminescence sensors
are, respectively, 82.34 kHz and 149.59 kHz, which correspond to 27.8oC and 13 fc. The temperature and
lighting conditions of the experimenting lab are verified using a commercial temperature- and light-
measuring instrument from URCERI. The frequency spectrum of the received demodulated signal is
shown in Figure 6. The frequency signal (sensor data) peaks are clearly visible; the frequency modulation
of sensor data is immune to any multi-path interference or noise in the propagation. The time domain
representation of the demodulated RF signal is shown in Figure 6, where the information signal from the
first and second sensors repeat over a time period of approximately 160 s. The temperature and
luminescence signals with a 82.34 kHz and a 149.59 kHz frequency, respectively, are shown in the
zoomed-in section. The demodulated signal is amplified using a 40-dB low-frequency amplifier before
acquiring the data using an oscilloscope. The sensors used in the system are analog in nature. Hence, their
minimum resolution depends on the measurement instrument used at the interrogator. For a standard
oscilloscope with 1% measurement accuracy for bandwidth up to 200 kHz, the minimum resolution is
2.6oC and 1.2 fc for the temperature sensor and luminescence sensor, respectively.

vi
Figure 6. (Left) Frequency spectrum of the demodulated sensor data. (Right) Wireless demonstration with
9-dBm transmitted power at 908 MHz, showing received sensor information in a time domain with a
switching frequency of 6 kHz (~160 µs).

Both wireless communication topologies are composed of powered interrogators and battery-less RF
tags with integrated sensors. The interrogators can receive information from the sensing modules and
relay it to the control room or multiple base stations. By collaborating with industry and within INL,
communication to the base stations can be securely encrypted to prevent eavesdropping and cyber-
terrorism. The designed automated wireless monitoring network featuring passive integrated sensors will
be scalable, reliable, and optimized for nuclear processes and assets.
Microfabrication techniques can be applied for the sensing nodes, which consist of multi-sensing
elements with small footprints. For enhanced durability and reliability, the sensors and circuits are
designed to be passive, thereby minimizing their need for shielding and protection in nuclear
environments and other hazardous conditions. A typical sensing node will consist of the combination of
sensing elements required for measuring various parameters salient to the operation of the reactor or the
experiments conducted within. Sensors in different configurations can be developed to measure these
salient parameters. The specific objectives of this passive communication architecture are as follows:
(1) To improve state-of-the-art nuclear monitoring sensors integrated with passive wireless
communication systems
(2) To provide a robust, battery-less passive antenna system for monitoring and communication
(3) To enable simple, effective installation of the wireless measurement system.
The battery-less RF tags with single- or multi-parameter sensors have lifetimes that span decades.
Since the sensors do not have batteries or any other active circuitry, they can withstand high temperatures
and radiation in nuclear environments. Monitoring of certain parameters quantities in nuclear
facilities—such as radiation, strain, pressure, and temperature—can be accomplished on a single
microchip with temperature compensation strategies. All parameters can be sensed at a single location by
implementing the sensor nodes onto a single chip. Such integrated passive-sensing RF tags for long-range
communication can be strategically designed and developed for different nuclear applications.
The proposed concepts and feasibilities discussed in this section have been demonstrated in the
literature [1-2, 6-7, 11-12].

vii
 4. RFID SENSOR RUGGEDIZATION FOR HARSH
ENVIRONMENTS
The ability to take measurements within a developmental fuel system while the fuel undergoes testing
and irradiation will considerably shorten the design period while strengthening our understanding of fuel
performance under irradiation. Previous research demonstrated that PDCs possess unique thermal and
mechanical properties that make them particularly suitable for harsh environments as RFID sensors.
These include: (1) unique, tunable semiconducting behavior for temperature measurements, (2) high
piezo-resistivity for pressure measurements, (3) excellent thermo-mechanical properties (in up to 1500oC)
for high-temperature survivability, (4) probable high radiation resistance for irradiation survivability, and
(5) micro-fabrication capability to ensure mass production of the proposed sensor suite at low cost. The
detailed material properties of PDCs as sensing materials are described in Section 4.3, while Section 4.4
provides the development path to enable the design and building of an RFID sensor based on the unique
properties of PDC materials.
The RFID sensor system can be applied in LWRs, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and other
reactor concepts, as EM waves have been shown to propagate through water. Because temperature
sensors are, in general, the most expedient to implement and the simplest to corroborate, an RFID
temperature sensor will be the first type developed. If this development is successful, several other types
of sensors (e.g., heat-flux, stress, and strain sensors) can then be designed for taking measurements inside
the reactor core.
4.1 Plan for Field-Deployable Sensor and Signal Transmission
Taking measurements in fuel rods is difficult since the fuel is inside a metal cladding. If the design
challenge for transmitting signals in and out of the fuel rod is successfully resolved, other nuclear
applications will become possible. The design concepts for transmitting energy into the rod and the signal
out of the rod will be discussed in this section and can be generalized to include other fuel formats such as
plate fuel and Tri-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) pebbles. The schematic diagram of the LWR-2 fuel rodlet
and capsule assembly for Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) irradiation is shown in Figure 7. The LWR-2
fuel rodlet will need to be modified for an RFID sensor to be installed within. An example
implementation for a field-deployable sensor is shown in Figure 8. The schematic diagram of the LWR-2
fuel rodlet and capsule assembly for ATR irradiation shows the capsule containing the fuel rod within (far
right), the fuel rod (center), and a zoomed-in schematic of the RFID sensor (far left). The micro-sensor
hangs inside the fuel rod cladding via a feedthrough in the cap. The sensor suite will be designed using
passive sensors and will be powered wirelessly by an external pulse source.

viii
Figure 7. Schematic diagram of the LWR-2 fuel rodlet and capsule assembly for ATR irradiation.
Dimensions are in inches.

ix
 Transceiver
to-and-from
sensors

Capsule

feed-through
in the cap

sensor
suite

Figure 8. Typical oxide fuel drop-in capsule configuration (zoom-in: the sensor suite is “hung” inside the
rodlet by an electrical feedthrough in the cap).

The wireless signal transfer is based on RFID technology that has been in use for decades. Figure 9
shows a schematic diagram of the proposed sensor concept. The RF tags are comprised of commercially
available technologies and generally consist of three parts: transceiver, micro-patch antenna, and resonant
circuit. The sensing system consists of a wireless transmitter/receiver. The antenna portion of the
transceiver resides just inside the reactor primary containment vessel in a relatively low-radiation
area. An RF signal will be transmitted to a high-temperature micro-patch antenna. Inside the fuel rod will
be a PDC sensor connected to the micro-patch antenna feedthrough. Although use of wires in harsh
environments is not desired, the wiring and installation of the PDC sensor into the fuel rod/capsule will be
done in an instrument fabrication environment.

x
 RFID transceiver

Patch antenna
and
Feed-through

Modified pulse out

RF pulse in
Patch antenna
&
Feed-through

Sensor Capsule
Suite
Test
Material

Pressure Vessel

Figure 9. Schematic diagram showing the proposed sensor-transmitter system.

Recently, several methods were proposed and demonstrated for propagating the RF signal through
water and/or other liquids in order to sense physical parameters (e.g., pressure and temperature) at a
distance of up to 30 m (exceeding reactor deployment requirements), using various transmission
frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to 20 GHz [13–19]. Previous results demonstrated the communication
of temperature data using a commercially available active device, acquiring near real-time data at a
sustainable rate of at least once per minute. In another proof-of-principle experiment, a commercial RFID
development kit was used to test the signal reception in a water tank. With the transmitter located outside
the tank and the receiver in the water, signal transmission through the water was not degraded in
comparison to baseline air transmissions; the effective stand-off distance actually increased when
transmitted through water. Therefore, the reliability of transmission through water via the RFID tag is
equal to or greater than that of air-to-air transmission for this particular configuration.
The basic foundation of an RFID sensor is the LCR (inductor, capacitor, resistor) resonant circuit.
The resonant frequency of the sensor changes in accordance with the change in the resistance of the
resistor. As described in Section 4.4, the electrical resistance of PDCs changes with both the surrounding
temperature and pressure, in turn changing the resonant frequency of the LCR circuit. This is the sensing
mechanism behind the sensor suite with wireless signal transmission. During implementation, the
transmitted RF signal will cause the PDC sensor to resonate at a center frequency based on temperature
(or pressure). The resonant sensor re-emits a modified signal broadcasted by the micro-patch antenna for
reception by the transceiver and data acquisition system.
4.2 Design Objective
The objective is to develop a novel micro-sensor suite for in-situ and real-time monitoring (with a
sampling frequency of at least 1 Hz) of temperature and pressure inside nuclear reactor fuel rod cladding.

xi
During preliminary laboratory experimentation [20], the measurement spanned 300–950 for 10 hours,

with no measurable performance degradation and a maximum error falling within 3. Compared to other

sensor technologies, the proposed system has the following advantages:

 Because made of PDCs, the sensor will survive in harsh reactor environments.
 The sensor dimensions can be made small enough (~ mm) to fit in the reactor core regardless of
current space limitations.
 The measured temperature signal will be sent wirelessly out of the experiment capsule or the
core, eliminating the need for connection cables and thus enhancing the reliability of the sensor
system.
4.3 Properties of Polymer-Derived Ceramics
PDCs are a new class of high-temperature, multifunctional materials synthesized via thermal
decomposition of polymeric precursors. The synthesis processing includes the following basic steps
(Figure 10) [21, 22]: (1) synthesize/modify polymer precursors (SiCN), (3) shape and cross-link the
precursor to infusible polymer components/devices, and (3) pyrolyze the polymer components/devices
into ceramics through pyrolysis. The resultant materials will predominantly be amorphous ceramic,
consisting of silicon, carbon, and nitrogen [23]. Other elements such as aluminum can also be
incorporated into the network to tailor and improve the material properties [20, 24].
Start Synthesize Shape Infusible Pyrolysis Ceramic
Precursors Cross-link
chemicals components components

Figure 10. Processing steps for synthesizing polymer-derived ceramics [21, 22].

PDCs possess unique and superior properties that make them particularly suitable for the proposed
micro-sensor suite in regard to in-situ and real-time temperature/pressure measurements in nuclear
reactors. These properties include:
 Unique, tunable semiconducting behavior for temperature measurements
 High piezoresistivity for pressure measurements
 Excellent thermo-mechanical properties (at up to 1500oC) for high-temperature survivability
 Probable high radiation resistance for irradiation survivability
 Micro-fabrication capability to ensure low-cost mass production of the proposed sensor suite.
4.3.1 Unique and tunable semiconducting behavior for temperature
measurement
Recently, it was demonstrated that PDCs exhibit a stable semiconducting behavior at up to 1600oC
[25-27], much higher than what other wide band gap semiconducting materials (such as SiC) are capable
of. Figure 11 shows typical PDC temperature-dependent electrical conductivity. The curves exhibit three

xii
regions, suggesting that the material exhibits typical amorphous semiconductor behavior. Figure 11 also
illustrates that PDC electrical conductivity is perfectly repeatable during heating and cooling cycles, so
sensors made from these materials can be repeatedly used in high temperatures. The thermal coefficient
of resistivity, k  (dR / Ro ) / dT (where R is the resistance of the sample and T is the temperature), of this
material is > 10-3, higher than for Pt, which has the highest thermal coefficient of resistivity among all
currently used high-temperature sensing materials. This means that the temperature sensors can utilize the
semiconducting behavior of PDCs, maintain high measuring accuracy, and survive in high temperatures
of up to 1500oC.

Figure 11. Electrical conductivity of a PDC as a function of temperature.

In addition, it was demonstrated that the electrical properties of PDCs strongly depend on the
concentration of the free carbon phase and C-dangling bond. By changing the concentration of the free
carbon phase and C-dangling bond, the electrical conductivity of PDCs can be varied over a large range.
Figure 12 shows the resistivity of PDCs as a function of composition. It is seen that the resistivity of
PDCs can be varied by more than four orders of magnitude by simply varying the concentration of the
modifiers. The capability to vary electrical conductivity over a large range is particularly important for
the proposed applications, since the entire sensor can be fabricated from similar materials with different
resistivities in order to avoid thermal mismatch/stress—the most critical issue in determining the
reliability and lifetime of a sensor used in high temperatures.

xiii
Figure 12. Electrical conductivity of PDCs as a function of composition.

4.3.2 High piezoresistivity for pressure measurement

PDCs also exhibit remarkably high piezoresistivity. Figure 13 shows the electrical resistance of a
PDC material as a function of uniaxial compressive stress. It is observed that the resistance of the sample
decreases in accordance with the applied stress. The resistance’s dependence on stress is highly
repeatable during loading/unloading cycles, in which changes are caused by elastic deformation. The
k  (R / Ro ) /(L / Lo )
strain gauge factors k (defined as , where R is the change in resistance, Ro is the
original resistance [ohm], 
 L / L
o is the strain, and L is the original length [in meters]) are calculated
o
from the curves. The range of the k values is 1000–4000—significantly higher than that of SiC (k ~
20–30). Therefore, pressure sensors made from PDCs will have much higher sensitivity and a wider
measuring range. Since PDCs are amorphous semiconductors, the PDC gauge factor should have a weak
temperature dependence (T1/4). As a result, pressure sensors made from PDCs are expected to have high
signal gain at elevated temperatures. In contrast, the k of crystalline materials such as SiC decreases
significantly with temperature, leading to lower signal gain at elevated temperatures.

10

Load

Specimen
Resistance ()

Electrode

7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Stress (MPa)

Figure 13. Electrical resistance as a function of applied stress [28].

xiv
4.3.3 Excellent thermo-mechanical properties at up to 1500oC for high-
temperature survivability
It was demonstrated that PDCs exhibit excellent thermo-mechanical properties at up to 1500oC,
without any structural or composition degradations. The creep resistance of PDCs exceeds that of
polycrystalline SiC and Si3N4. In particular, PDCs exhibit an anomalously high resistance to oxidation
and hot corrosion (Figure 14). Consequently, we anticipate that PDC-based sensors can survive the
corrosive, high-temperature environments found in nuclear reactors.

a 10 m b 10 m c 10 m

Figure 14. Scanning electron microscope images of the surfaces of (a) typical silicon-based ceramics after
heat-treatment in water vapor and/or NaCl-containing environments, (b) PDCs after annealing at 1400oC
for 300 hrs in 50% H2O-50% O2, and (c) PDCs after annealing at 1200oC for 50 hrs in a NaCl-containing
environment [29].

4.3.4 Probable high radiation resistance for irradiation survivability

While PDCs’ radiation damage behavior has not yet been studied, their known behavior suggests they
should be much more radiation-resistant than SiC and Si3N4 ceramics. It is well-known that the root cause
of radiation damage is the continuous generation of vacancies and interstitials in atomic displacement
cascades and defect accumulation. Crystallinity of the material is thus an important criterion in causing
radiation damage to occur. PDCs are mostly non-crystalline, making them damage-resistant. The unique
structure of PDCs can effectively promote defect recombination to mitigate radiation damage.
In our prior research, PDC (SiAlCN) ceramics were prepared and tested under irradiation. The
irradiation test was performed by Dr. Jay Kunze and his team at Idaho State University. The irradiation
lasted three hours at 4 watts. The sample received a gamma dose of about 240 Gy, equal to 24,000 rads of
gamma radiation (or 24,000 rads equivalent man). The sample saw a neutron dose—essentially all from
fast neutrons—of 120,000 rads equivalent man. According to the optical images, the PDC ceramic sample
maintained its integrity after the irradiation test.
4.3.5 Micro-fabrication capability to ensure low-cost mass production of the
proposed sensor suite
Another attractive property of PDCs is that they can easily be micro-machined into miniaturized
components with complex features/structures in organic form, then converted into ceramics via pyrolysis,
thus drastically reducing the manufacturing costs for mass production. A micro-mechanical machining
technique was recently developed (in a lab) for making ceramic micro-electro-mechanical systems from
PDCs [30-31].
4.4 Research Tasks
To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the following development tasks are necessary.

xv
4.4.1 Task 1: Developing PDC material with desired electrical properties for
accurate sensor measurement
In this task, the compositions and structures of PDC materials will be systemically tailored to achieve
the desired sensitivity and measurement accuracy for the designed sensor suite. PDCs consist of
disordered graphite nanoclusters and a heterogeneous amorphous matrix. They are x-ray amorphous but
exhibit some level of order and heterogeneity at the nanoscale. The size and amount of the graphite nano-
clusters (referred to as free carbon), as well as the local composition, significantly affect the electrical
properties.
Previous studies demonstrated that PDCs’ electrical conduction strongly depends on the
concentration of the free carbon phase. When the concentration rises above a critical level (depending on
the size of the free carbon), the materials exhibit a tunneling-percolation effect, thus achieving
significantly high piezoresistivity. On the other hand, when the concentration is below the critical value,
the materials exhibit a semiconducting behavior that depends on the matrix composition.
4.4.2 Task 2: Designing and fabricating the sensor suite for simultaneous
temperature and pressure measurements
Temperature measurement: Previous work [4, 5, 20, 21, 31–34] has primarily focused on using PDCs
as high-temperature sensing material. Figure 15 shows a sample PDC sensor fabricated in the lab, along
with the reference thermocouple. As described in Section 4.3.1, PDC materials exhibit temperature-
dependent electrical conductivity. The thermal coefficient of resistivity is also higher than for Pt,
affording accurate temperature measurement. During actual measurements, the PDC temperature sensor
can be simplified as a potentiometer whose resistance changes according to the ambient temperature. A
schematic diagram of the temperature sensor is given in Figure 16.

Figure 15. PDC sensors and reference thermocouple.

xvi
Figure 16. Signal conditioning circuit for a temperature sensor.

Repeatability tests for temperature measurement: Preliminary experiments demonstrated very

consistent thermal-resistance responses by the PDC sensor to temperatures as high as 950 The
repeatability of the material’s thermal-resistance behaviors ensures accurate temperature measurements,
and a Wheatstone bridge was designed to convert the resistance change into a voltage signal. The PDC
sensor was then calibrated using the measurement from a reference thermocouple. In a repeatability test

in which the temperature was changed from 650 to 830 and cycled six times for a total of 10 hours,

results showed a maximum measurement error of 3.

Sensitivity adjustment for higher-temperature measurements: By adjusting the Wheatstone bridge, the
resolution of the PDC sensor can be shifted toward higher temperatures without sacrificing the SNR. This

is guaranteed by (1) the high resistance sensitivity of the PDC material (2.86 between 950and 1050)

and the fact that (2) the characterization algorithm works in the frequency domain, thereby avoiding the
peak of the noise spectrum.
4.4.3 Simultaneous temperature and pressure measurements
The harsh environments of nuclear reactors may distort the sensor measurement signals, since PDCs
respond to both temperature and pressure variations. As such, sensor data fusion will be performed to
foster more accurate measurements. To extract accurate information, PDC sensors of different structures
and compositions will be designed, fabricated, and characterized in a pressurized high-temperature
container simulating the actual reactors. In the actual application, the temperature sensor will take
measurements in the same environment as the pressure sensor for post-acquisition removal of temperature
coefficients.

xvii
4.4.4 Signal conditioning system and wireless transmission
As mentioned, the sensor suite will be designed to be passive and will be powered wirelessly by an
outside source. During temperature and pressure measurements, the electrical resistance of the PDC
sensor suite changes, altering the resonant frequency of the LCR circuit. All data-processing will be done
outside the reactor vessel, as shown in Figure 9. Currently, this technology is at TRL-4.
5. ELECTROMAGNETIC COUPLING
Although RFID sensor technology potentially affords large standoff distances from the transceiver
antenna, it has the disadvantage of requiring electrical feedthroughs to transfer information in and out of
closed metal containers. When sensors are contained in closed metal structures that experience harsh
conditions such as high temperatures, pressure, and radiation, through-wall communication of data and
power enable sensor implementation without the need for penetrations. The resulting lack of sensor
penetrations enhances sensor reliability and application safety.
EM coupling is now used to transmit signals and power through metal walls [35–27]. Three EM-
coupling-based techniques were considered in the literature [35]:
1. Capacitive coupling
2. Magnetic resonance coupling
3. Inductive coupling.
It is reportedly impractical to use the capacitively coupled power transfer (CCPT) method to transfer
power or data through a sealed metallic structure and to the sensors inside [35]. Although there are reports
of power transfer though plates, no such reports demonstrate data transmission through metal walls
(contiguous) using the CCPT method. Since there is no known remedy for this application issue, the
CCPT technique is not discussed here further.
Literature demonstrating magnetic resonance coupling for through-metal-wall power transfer is
scarce. A paper was found that discussed wireless power transmission into the interior of a closed metal
box via magnetic resonance coupling [38]. The prototype system operated at a resonance frequency of 50
Hz. This low frequency was selected to reduce eddy current losses within the metal walls of the
enclosure. It was demonstrated that 3 W of electric power was transmitted to light emitting diodes (LEDs)
through a 1-mm-thick stainless-steel wall. The reported efficiency was approximately 40% over a
transmission path of 12 cm. It was also reported that 1.2 W of power was transmitted to LEDs by
propagating through a metal pipe wall 5-mm thick. The reported efficiency was 10%. The reported
efficiencies for this magnetic resonance technique are significantly better than for techniques using
inductive coupling at the same frequency.
Magnetic resonance coupling is essentially the same as inductive coupling, except that magnetic
resonance coupling uses a high-permeability core within the coils. The core significantly increases the
efficiency of the coupling system. The addition of the core within the windings also increases the size and
complexity of the communication system. Reducing the size of the core to decrease the footprint reduces
the efficiency of the coupling system, and the harsh radiation environment (temperature and radiation)
deleteriously affect the permeability of the core, driving the magnetic resonance coupling technique’s
efficiency closer to that of the inductive coupling technique. Thus, the robustness of the magnetic
resonance coupling technique in a radiation environment is suspect. The magnetic resonance technique is
better-suited for less harsh environments with significant space available.
Inductive coupling has been used to transmit data and power through thin metal barriers. It is
probably the most common wireless data/power transmission method currently employed. It operates on a
similar principal as that employed by electrical transformers: inducing magnetic field coupling via a pair
of coils. A transformer generates an alternative magnetic field by having a current within the primary coil.

xviii
The primary coil current creates current in the adjacent secondary coil via EM induction. In a transformer,
the primary and secondary coils are tightly coupled to the core. As stated earlier, the inductive coupling
system contains a detached primary and secondary coil pair. Inductive coupling was demonstrated to be
useful for applications such as low-energy-transfer sensor applications [35]. Inductive coupling was
demonstrated using a working prototype featuring low data rates and power transmitted through metal
barriers to simultaneously power the sensor and communication electronics [39]. The demonstration
produced a communication rate of greater than 100 bps through a 20-mm-thick stainless-steel plate.
Inductive coupling is a promising technology for use in radiation experiments. The inductive coupling
system can be made from robust, passive electrical circuits. Both power and data can be inductively
coupled through metallic walls [40]. However, there are two potential downsides to this technology for
use in radiation experiments:
 The power necessary to drive the transmitter coil
 The standoff distance between the transmitter and the receiver coils.
The combination of these two potential issues means that the transmitter coil will require external
powering; in turn, necessitating wired electrical connections. The next section discusses an inductive-
coupling-based temperature-measurement system being implemented within a nuclear test reactor. This
installation highlights the benefits and potential issues involved with inductive coupling technology.
Although EM coupling techniques show promise for use in radiation environments, EM coupling is
only practical for use with specific metals and geometries. EM coupling can only be used with non-
ferromagnetic metals and thin walls. These limitations result from the Faraday shielding effect. EM
coupling is only useful for data and power transmission at a low transmission rate (≈ 100 Hz) and in low-
permeability materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, etc.
5.1 Inductive Coupling Implementation
Section 4.3 discussed an inductive-based sensor designed and tested in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Reactor (MITR) by Westinghouse [41]. It is estimated that this technology is at TRL-3–4.
The sensor is based on a pulsed induction and receiver technique to transmit a pulsed signal from a source
transmitter ideally located in an instrument thimble or within a nearby fuel rod. The induction pulse
transmits energy through the fuel rod wall to the inductive sensor within. The inductive sensor is also a
resonant circuit that will resonate and transmit a modified signal back to the receiver located near the
transmitter. The inductive sensor can be designed to be sensitive to the following measurement
parameters:
 Centerline fuel temperature
 Fuel rod internal pressure
 Fuel pellet stack elongation.
Changes in the inductance and capacitance, caused by a measurement parameter variation, will result
in a shift in the resonant frequency, as demonstrated by Equation 1, where L is the inductance and C is the
capacitance that comprise the resonant circuit.

xix
Figure 17. The inductive-sensor system design used in the MITR (redrawn from Carvajal et al.) [41].

The transmitter (Tx) coil is housed in the right-most ceramic capsule within Figure 17. The Tx
continually pulses inductive energy through the fuel rod wall and into the sensor resonant circuit. The
sensor resonant circuit modifies the resonant frequency of the re-radiated magnetic pulse based on the
current values of L and C. The transmitter must be switched off for the receiver (Rx) coil to pick up the
returned signal. The fuel rod sensor/resonator is embodied by the resonant circuit housed in the ceramic
capsule on the left in Figure 17. The Tx and Rx coils are shown in the ceramic capsule on the right, which
represents the instrument thimble of a commercial LWR.
Testing of the inductive sensing system in the MITR was accomplished using ceramic capsules. The
ceramic fuel capsules significantly increased the inductive transmission of the pulses for this inaugural
test within the reactor. Inductive signals have been obtained through steel fuel cladding in the lab, as
orally presented in [41] and discussed in [42].
The purpose of the inductive sensor test was to ascertain the performance of the sensor with respect to
drift and robustness to temperature and radiation. The inductive senor was placed in a waterflow loop
with the following characteristics: it was kept at 296°C, 10.3 MPa, and a waterflow rate of 18 L/min. The
irradiation experienced by the sensor was estimated. When the reactor was set for 5.9 MW, the average
neutron flux at the sensor location was 1.9 x 1,014 neutrons/cm2/s total and 8.3 x 1,013 neutrons/cm2/s
for energies over 0.1 MeV. The gamma flux within the same location was estimated to be 2 x 1,014
gammas/cm2/s.
Details of the experiment and the results thereof can be found in [41, 42]. The highlights of the results
are as follows: the sensor system operated in the MITR autoclave loop functioned during exposure to an
overall neutron fluence of 1.1 x 1,021 n/cm2 (> 0.1 MeV) and a cooling water temperature of
approximately 300°C. Amplitude variation and frequency changes occurred during operation, but the
sensor system transmitted data throughout the testing.
The center frequency of the resonant inductive circuit drifted over a three-week period. This drift can
be attributed to changes in sensor capacitance, since inductance measurements of the Tx and Rx inductors
exhibited nominal variations in inductance during testing. Resonant frequency fluctuations during
irradiation testing varied from 32 to 68kHz. Data suggests that during the last 1.5 weeks, the drift was
steadying at 68 Hz.

xx
 The signal amplitude was seen to diminish during the same three-week period. The signal loss is
thought to result from a growth in the equivalent series impedance of the capacitor, or the inductor, or
both. The impedance of the Tx and Rx coils grew in accordance with temperature and radiation during the
start of the test but became stable after the initial rise. This indicates that the capacitor was the source of
the long-term signal degradation. The total fluence seen by the sensor and transceiver in the MITR was
compared to a nominal 40-year fluence within the plenum region of a pressurized-water reactor fuel rod.
The equivalent timespan would be one to nine 18-month fuel cycles. The equivalent timespan heavily
depends on the fuel rod’s location in the pressurized-water reactor. MITR testing of the prototype
inductive-sensing system successfully demonstrated that it can function in a nuclear reactor by wirelessly
transmitting analog data. However, the frequency variation must be removed or compensated for before
this technique can be used for measurement applications.
5.2 Radio Frequency Modulator Implementation
An RF-based communication system for use in a reactor core was developed by Westinghouse using
radiation- and temperature-resistant electronics. Self-powered neutron detectors or thermocouples provide
a measurement signal to a wireless transmitter containing vacuum micro-electronic (VME) circuits that
broadcast the signals to a receiving antenna inside the reactor vessel. The signal from the antenna is
routed to a data acquisition and processing system. The key technology enabling the radiation-tolerant
transmission of signals is the VME-based amplitude modulation (AM) RF transmitter [41, 43].
Because traditional semiconductor circuits do not survive long in high-radiation fields, vacuum tube
technology is utilized as the active elements within the reactor core. In general, passive components such
as ceramic capacitors, quartz crystals, and wire wound resistors are naturally resistant to radiation.
Radiation-hardened components are used to construct an RF oscillator operating at approximately 20
MHz that functions as a tank oscillator [44, 45]. The VME-based AM wireless transmitter that was
developed can survive fast neutrons and gamma radiation at larger dose levels than commercial radiation-
hardened electronic components.
The radiation-hardened components are used to fabricate a capacitive oscillator with a shorting device
comprising the active element in a relaxation oscillator that modulates the RF tank oscillator. Figure 18 is
a high-level schematic of the RF transmission system. A tank circuit is comprised of a capacitor coupled
by wires to an inductive coil. As the capacitor receives an electrical charge from a sensor, positive and
negative charges build up on opposite ends of the insulating surface between the capacitor plates.
Although opposite charges attract, these charges cannot move through the insulator but are forced to flow
within the wires through the inductor coil. This movement of electrons electromagnetically charges the
inductor. The electron movement between the capacitor and the inductor causes resonance in the tank
circuit. As electrons move from the capacitor through the coil, EM energy in the capacitor is transferred
to the inductor. Once the inductor contains more EM energy than the capacitor, energy is transferred back
to the capacitor. The energy transfer restarts and repeats. Secondary elements used for EM transfer of the
RF signal include enameled wire and NiZn ferrite material for an electrical transformer core.

SPD
Current Control Oscillator AM Transmitter

Figure 18. The self-powered detector signal is used to modulate an AM transmitter built from VME
components and transmitted to a data acquisition system outside the reactor (redrawn from [44]).

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 This wireless transmitter was demonstrated in the Breazeale Reactor at Pennsylvania State
University. The Breazeale Reactor supplied a neutron flux of 1 x 1,012 n/cm2/sec and a total neutron
fluence of 3 x 1,018 n/cm2 to the transmitter system. Testing occurred over several weeks, with no
component failures noted. Initial testing at the Breazeale Reactor showed that wireless transmission can
successfully relay the modulated signal. However, changes in the reactor core setup over time,
necessitated by normal reactor operations, caused intermittent signal reception. It was decided that
subsequent tests would rely on a direct wired connection between the transmitter and the receiver. While
this is disappointing, the technique of using the AM rate to encode reactor power was successfully
demonstrated.
The resulting data [41] show that reactor power movements correlate to the modulation rate
transmitted by the VME oscillator. The AM transmitter response is prompt and repeatable when the
reactor transitions from 0 to 100% power. Step changes of 25% for powers of 100, 75, and 50% were
closely tracked by the modulation rate. Changes in powers of less than 25% were not followed because
the VME circuit cannot process a low Self-Powered Detector (SPD) current. For the Breazeale Reactor,
the minimum detectable current would be close to 150 nA.
While the basic concept of AM encoding of reactor power was demonstrated using VME-based
circuits within an active nuclear core, there are further technical challenges. The full vison of the
transmission system was not implemented (see Figure 19). Self-powering of the transmitter (via SPDs), as
envisioned in the patent [44], was not implemented. Active devices (transmitters) were powered by
external power supplies, and the output from the SPD was wired into the transmitter after leaving the
reactor pool. It is also interesting to note that the Breazeale testing used an AM transmitter and not the
FM design described in the patent [43].

Data out
to SCADA Coax Cable
SCADA

Detector Cable
Power Supply

Water Level
Conduit

Antenna Reactor
Aluminum Enclosure Pool

Fuel Assembly

Figure 19. Experimental implementation of the wireless transmission system in the Breazeale Reactor,
showing the external powering of the transmitters and the wired delivery of the SPD signal. The antennas
were eventually replaced by cable connections due to intermittent signal transmission (redrawn from
[41]).

At present, Westinghouse seems focused on developing their inductive technology. Westinghouse is

working with INL to implement their inductive designs in the ATR for testing as part of the Accident
Tolerant Fuel Program. It is believed that the reason for focusing on inductive technology is due to past
experience with intermittent signal transmission and the need for an in-pile power supply. The power

xxii
necessary to operate the VME transmitter broadcasting the RF signal is planned to be provided by a
device that converts gamma radiation into electrical current [43]. The power source is to be co-located in
the reactor along with the VME transmitter. The local power source will eliminate the necessity to deliver
power from outside the reactor. However, the gamma power harvesting device remains a future work
[41].
6. WIRELESS SENSOR INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS
The previous sections of this report described how to generate signals within the reactor. This section
suggests general approaches for transmitting the signals out of the reactor. Because current and advanced
reactor designs are complex and extremely diverse, it is beyond the scope of this report to provide
specific transmission designs. The sensing techniques discussed here focus on EM techniques, with
conductive coolants such as molten salt or liquid metal providing significant challenges in regard to EM
transmission. The possibility of multipath interference due to RF transmission is high, since dominant
structural materials in reactors are metallic. The techniques discussed in Section 3 can be used to reduce
the effects of multipath interference.
Despite the diversity of reactor types, the functional aspects of all reactors are similar: heat source
and flowing coolant. The flowing coolant channels and orifices can provide EM transmission paths and
access points in reactors. Due to structural shielding, not all fuel elements are likely to be accessible, but a
significant number of them should be. The next subsection uses an LWR core as an illustrative example.
6.1 LWR Installation Concepts
In Section 4.1, a simplified field-deployable sensor and transmission concept was discussed, as
depicted in Figure 9. A representative fuel assembly element provides access to the ends, as shown in
Figure 20. The wireless transmission system would be easier to implement using the top cap of the fuel
rod. The top of the reactor is generally the avenue for installing fuel and instrumentation. Thus, the
transceiver could be installed at the top of the reactor and radiate down onto the tops of the fuel rods.
Furthermore, the Fabrication of the micro-patch antenna feedthrough can be built into the cap of the fuel
rod, simplifying the installation of the RFID sensor into the fuel rod.

Spacer Grids

Fuel Rods
Guide Tubes
Instrument Tube

Figure 20. Representative fuel-element schematic showing how the ends of the fuel rods are accessed.
(Graphic redrawn courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy.)

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 While it may be possible to bring in the signals through the side of the fuel rods, positioning and
installing the transceiver antenna in the reactor would be more difficult. Integration of the micro-patch
feedthrough into the side wall, as well as installation of the sensor, would also be more difficult. The
outer fuel rods would prevent EM waves from penetrating into the center of the fuel element, thereby
limiting in-core sensing to the outer fuel rods.
Adding the control rod assembly complicates the transmission path of the EM waves both to and from
the sensors, as shown in Figure 21. The top nozzle blocks a considerable amount of EM signals from
reaching the fuel caps. The flow orifices in the top nozzle provide windows for some EM signals to pass
through and illuminate the fuel caps. Addition of the rod cluster control assembly to the fuel element
shields flow orifices in the top nozzle from the transceiver located at the top of the reactor but also
provides an opportunity to bring a transceiver closer to the fuel rods by routing it through the shaft of the
control assembly, as shown in Figure 22.

Rod Cluster Control Assembly

Top Nozzle

Fuel Rod
Instrument Tube
Guide Tube

Spacer Grid

Bottom Nozzle

Figure 21. Schematic of the installation of the rod cluster assembly onto the fuel element, showing the
EM shadowing of the fuel rod caps. The rod cluster control assembly shields flow orifices in the top
nozzle from the transceiver located at the top of the reactor. However, the rod cluster does provide an
opportunity to bring a transceiver closer to the fuel rods by routing it through the shaft of the control
assembly. (Photo redrawn from Areva: https://www.sfen.org/sites/default/files/public/atoms/files/2012-
markus_birkhofer_areva_the_importance_of_the_fuel_design.pdf.)

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 Top Nozzle
Rod Cluster
Fuel Rod Control Assembly
Instrument Tube
Guide Tube

Spacer Grid

Bottom Nozzle

Figure 22. Schematic of the installation of the top nozzle onto the fuel element, showing EM shadowing
of the fuel rod caps. Flow orifices in the top nozzle provide possible EM transmission paths. (Photo
redrawn from Areva: https://www.sfen.org/sites/default/files/public/atoms/files/2012-
markus_birkhofer_areva_the_importance_of_the_fuel_design.pdf.)

The shaft of the rod cluster assembly is used to bring wiring to the instrument thimble. Figure 20
shows the location of the instrument tube in the fuel element that houses the instrument thimble. The shaft
can either bring in the transceiver antenna via wires underneath the control rod fixturing or by using the
hollow shaft as an EM waveguide to deliver and receive signals. Again, not all the fuel rod locations are
useable as sensor locations. Laboratory mock-upsand modeling would determine the useful locations in
the fuel element.
The inductive measurement techniques employ a substantially different strategy than the EM
methods. The inductive measurements rely on using the instrument tube to house the active part of the
sensor. Since the inductive standoff distances are limited to centimeters, the instrument tube location can
be used to interrogate the fuel rods next to the instrument tube (see Figure 20). The inductive transmitter
within the instrument thimble will excite the inductive sensor within a fuel rod (see Figure 17). The
inductive receiver will then receive the signal and transmit it via wires through the shaft of the rod cluster
control assembly.
7. TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL FROM CONTAINMENT
NPP containment buildings are safety-related structures with several important functions. In
emergency situations, these structures contain escaping radioactive steam or gas, as well as protect the
reactor from projectiles. Containment buildings in current working reactors usually consist of reinforced
concrete with a metal lining that encloses the nuclear reactor [46–50]. The containment building is the
fourth and final barrier to radioactive gas and contamination release; the first barrier is the ceramic, the
second is the metallic cladding, and the third is the reactor vessel, including the coolant system [50]. All
NPPs in the U.S. are designed to survive prescribed conditions specified as "design basis accidents" in the
Final Safety Analysis Report, which is part of the operating license granted by the U.S. Government.
Containment buildings are usually gastight steel and concrete structures that encapsulate a reactor and

xxv
isolate it from the outside atmosphere. The steel liner can either be free-standing or attached to a concrete
projectile barrier. As indicated, the designs vary, depending on the reactor vendor and location. Figure 23
is a representative illustration of a working reactor containment building.

Figure 23. Schematic of a boiling-water reactor, showing the containment building. Figure courtesy of
NRC [51].

As indicated in Figure 1, measurement signals from within the core will be conveyed into the
containment building. The signals need to be either amplified or digitized, then transmitted outside the
containment building to the balance of the plant communication system. The preferred method would be
to digitize the signals, then transmit the digital data multiplexed from multiple sensors. Only monitoring
data is considered for transmission in this report, as safety-critical and control signals have their own
isolated secure transmission systems. Equipment to perform this transmission function would need to be
installed and powered within the containment area.
All nuclear reactors, from current working reactors to proposed advanced reactor designs such as
small modular reactors and microreactors, share similar functionality in terms of a traditional containment
structure. The advanced reactors currently being designed have the advantage of being able to integrate
the appropriate support infrastructure to process and transmit sensor signals to the balance of the plant
communication system. This section focuses on transmitting measurement signals from the representative
boiling-water reactor (shown in Figure 23) by retrofitting the necessary infrastructure.
7.1 Structural Details of the Containment Building
Working containment buildings are relatively large. For example, Plant Vogtle’s containment
structures are 140 ft in diameter and 226-ft high [52]. The walls consist of near 4-ft-thick steel-reinforced
concrete. The concrete walls contain large interlacing rebar, a steel cable system, and an interior steel
plate. Fortunately, the containment structure should be large enough to support the necessary
infrastructure if reasonably sized and if the space is efficiently used (see the video of the containment
interior in [52]). Sensitive electronics can be shielded from radiation within the containment building.
Unfortunately, the complexity and layered construction of the wall make it extremely difficult to transmit
signals out of the containment building.
The difficulty in getting signals out of the containment building provides ample research
opportunities. The gastight steel lining acts as a Faraday cage and makes standard RF transmission

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impractical. The reinforced concrete is highly attenuative to ultrasound. While communication techniques
may be developed independently for each layer combining the wall layers drastically increases the
difficulty of transmission. Note that reactor containment buildings can have significant construction
variations. For example, some containment buildings may have significant air space between the steel
lining and the concrete wall. Therefore, the transmission system would need to be customized for each
reactor facility.
7.2 Through-Wall Transmission Research
A number of researchers are looking into opportunities afforded by the containment building. The
Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies program, initiated by the Department of Energy’s Office of
Nuclear Energy, is sponsoring several technologies through the Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation
program. The most promising of the technologies take advantage of piping already installed in the reactor
buildings.
Figure 23 is a representative schematic showing the types of piping contained within and exiting the
containment building. Ultrasonic transmission systems based on transmitting ultrasonic waves via the
pipe walls are being developed based on laser-generated [53] and standard piezoelectric transducers [54].
The ultrasonic waves can potentially travel long distances within an unconstrained pipe wall, but
insultation, environmental covers, and airtight seals throughout the containment walls will significantly
attenuate the ultrasound. Research is being conducted on getting measurement signals through the steel
walls of a multipurpose spent fuel canister [55]. The instrumentation within the containment building
could possibly be thermally powered by the heated pipes using a thermoelectric module similar to the one
being developed in [55]. This may save valuable electrical cable space in the hermetically sealed
electrical feedthroughs while also reducing installation costs.
7.3 Using a Fluid Transmission Path
Following a similar strategy of using the piping wall as a transmission path, the fluid within the
piping can be used as an acoustic transmission path, potentially with direct access to the core (as
suggested by Figure 23) and offering a convenient avenue out of the containment building. The piping
functions as an acoustic waveguide, preventing acoustic energy from dispersing as it propagates to a
receiver located outside the reactor. A thermoacoustic sensing system was developed to take advantage of
the reactor environment and was demonstrated in a research reactor [56–63].
The thermoacoustic phenomenon provides for an all-in-one self-powering sensor with inherent
wireless telemetry capability, an integrated transducer, and continuous measurement capability. A fuel pin
can act as the acoustically resonant cavity, powered by the temperature gradient between the fuel pin and
the cooling fluid. The thermoacoustic sensor acoustically radiates, filling the reactor vessel with sound.
Some of the acoustic energy will make it into the pipes and be guided outside, where the acoustic signal
can be detected and demodulated. The thermoacoustic sensor can be configured to measure neutron flux,
temperature, or displacement. Multiple sensors can be frequency-multiplexed, and multiple signals can be
received by a single receiver—such as an accelerometer or hydrophone. The receiver would be located
outside the containment building in contact with the pipe or fluid. Since the acoustic signals travel within
the fluid, hermetic seals and insulation minimally affect signal propagation. The received signal can then
be transmitted to the balance of the plant communication system for broadcast to the control room or data
cloud.
7.4 Electrical Cable for Containment Transmission
Though it is appealing to keep the transmission system wireless, multi-layer containment walls
significantly impede through-wall transmission. As mentioned, researchers are developing technology to
address this issue. Even if they are successful, this cutting-edge technology must compete with
wired/cable transmission on both a practical and an economic basis. Major impediments to using cabled

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transmission are the costs of installing/routing the cables and their vulnerability to mishaps during normal
plant operations and maintenance. For applications in the containment building, the impediments to using
cables are significantly reduced. The cable runs would be relatively short—on the order of 500 ft.—and
the potential for mishap is reduced by being within a limited space indoors.
Electrical cables have performed safely over the 40-year planned lifetime of the typical NPP, with
few age-related cable failures recorded [64–66]. NPPs are now considering submitting applications to
extend this lifetime period to up to 80 years [64]. It would be difficult for any other form of
instrumentation to match the operating lifetimes and low need for maintenance that electrical cables are
proven to offer. Because a cable can have a maximum bandwidth of 30 GHz [67], a single cable would
have ample communication bandwidth to transfer all the digital monitoring data. Reactor critical data
from safety-critical systems, reactor control systems, etc., have their own, separate qualified transmission
systems. Adding a single cable to the existing electrical feedthroughs should be feasible and would be a
reasonable compromise. The advantages of using a single electrical cable to transmit signals out of the
containment building may outweigh the potential benefits of wireless transmission. Ultimately, the
decision will be based on the engineering tradeoffs necessary for the upgrades. For advanced reactors
currently being designed, the possibilities are unlimited, as the transmission systems can be creatively
built into the reactor structures.
8. TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL FROM THE BALANCE OF THE
PLANT
NPPs are moving toward advanced technologies to automate monitoring, inspection, security, etc., for
improved operating efficiency and effectiveness without compromising safety or reliability. In
“Delivering the Nuclear Promise,” the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation,
and the Electric Power Research Institute committed to making nuclear power generation one of the most
competitive sources of energy in the U.S. market [68]. Although wired solutions present reliable channels
for transmitting data, wired network deployment costs are extremely high. Industrial automation has
becoming significantly more advanced with the emergence of 5G technology, as well as advanced low-
power IoT technologies.
Most currently available wireless technologies such as wireless local area networks (WLANs),
Bluetooth, Zigbee, and RFID use the 2.4-GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. With the
increased number of devices, the 2.4-GHz ISM band is becoming overcrowded. Interference caused by
different wireless technologies is increasing, resulting in high packet loss and low performance. Given the
concerns associated with 2.4-GHz communication, expensive, Long-Term Evolution (LTE)-based
solutions such as Narrowband-IoT, Category-1, and Category-M are evolving as low-energy, low-bit-rate
solutions for IoT applications. In addition, proprietary technologies including long-range wide-area
networks (LoRaWANs) and RFID are making their mark on IoT applications. These proprietary
technologies use unlicensed spectrum bands (such as 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, etc.) with simple, cost-effective
deployments. Additionally, these technologies will need either WLAN or cellular network backbones to
upload/offload data.
With the diversity of wireless technologies available today, it is impossible to develop a one-size-fits-
all solution to enable industrial automation. Different types of data are transmitted over wireless networks
with different quality-of-service (QoS), latency, and bandwidth requirements. In this regard, it is
important to identify key aspects such as data rate, traffic type, distance, energy consumption, and
network density in regard to designing a network that meets minimal industrial automation requirements.
This will also ease data transmission and storage from the point of collection to remote locations for
further processing [69]. Hence, to satisfy industrial automation and communication needs, co-existing
heterogeneous networks (HetNets) should be built. For HetNet deployment, mutual interference between
different wireless technologies must also be addressed. Unlike in other deployment scenarios for

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industrial environments, operators need centralized control over all the networks in order to reduce
implementation costs, provide single-point control/monitoring of network devices, improve security, and
enhance connectivity.
The choice of wireless technology will depend on technical features and capabilities such as
coverage, capacity, latency, and QoS. The link budget, which defines the power loss in transmitting a
signal through a medium, will be designed for the usage area and will determine the number of base
stations, antennas, and access points (APs). The link budget will also determine the transmitter power and
the separation between base stations and APs. Each frequency band—such as 2.4GHz for WLAN or
700MHz for LTE—have different link budgets, making network designs specific to each type of wireless
technology. If more than one wireless technology is considered, mutual interference must also be
considered when building a co-existing HetNet to support a wide range of applications and user
requirements. In this regard, distributed antenna technologies such as distributed antenna system (DAS)
and WLAN technologies are widely used in industrial communication. DAS is widely used to provide
cellular connectivity in both indoor and outdoor environments. In industrial environments, either WLAN
or cellular networks are integrated with a DAS unit. This integration can be used to upload/offload data to
a remote location or cloud for data analysis, monitoring, diagnosis, and prognosis.
8.1 Network Architecture
Most network topologies are predominantly driven by DAS or WLAN systems, since they can enable
(1) high bandwidths and high data rates with low latency, (2) prioritized data transmission based on the
required QoS, and (3) consolidation of multiband wireless technologies under one network architecture.
This report focuses on a representative DAS wireless network. The next section summarizes the features
and components of a DAS wireless network architecture, as shown in Figure [70].

Figure 24. Envisioned DAS wireless network architecture for NPP automation.

8.2 Distributed Antenna System

In this report, a digital DAS system is considered, consisting of a main unit (MU), expansion unit
(EU), remote unit (RU), and antenna elements (AE). These components are interconnected using optical
fiber cables of appropriate lengths at different height levels. Fiber-optic cables connect the MU to the
EUs. For a DAS system, a maximum of four EUs can be connected to the MU. EUs and RUs are
connected using Category-5 or coaxial cables. A thin coaxial cable connects the RU to the AE. The length
of the Category-5 or coaxial cables depends on the number and placement of the AE. It is important to

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note that the RU itself can have embedded AE.
In Figure 24, the sensor nodes using cellular technology (LTE) send measurement data to the closest
antenna. The received RF signal is distributed to independent electrical amplifiers with the appropriate
frequency band. The amplified independent signals are then multiplexed and fed into the Mid-Power
Remote Optic Unit (MPROU), which converts the multiplexed RF signal into an optical one. The optical
signal is then fed into the Optical Distribution Unit (ODU), where optical signals from several MPROUs
can merge. Note that the signals from the MPROU to the ODU are optical because MPROUs can be
located in remote locations at the facility. The optical cables help carry the signal from the remote
location to the front end of the DAS without attenuation. At the ODU, the optical signals are converted
back into RF signals and received at the base station interface (BSI). At the BSI, the RF signals are
filtered at the appropriate frequency bands, then the signal is sent to the relevant carrier’s cellular
backhaul. Note that each cellular carrier uses different frequency bands, therefore filtering is needed to
separate the signals. From the cellular backhaul, the signal goes through the packet core network of an
individual carrier and over to the cloud for storage, monitoring, and diagnosis.
It is important to note that, for clarity, the data flow in Figure 24 is shown to be unidirectional from
the reactor core. In actuality, two-way communication to the instrumentation is also a possibility. Two-
way communication allows for remote control of the monitoring instrumentation in order to enable the
ability to remotely change settings and conduct trouble-shooting remotely.
A DAS testbed for information uploading was deployed at INL’s Human System Simulation
Laboratory (which is at TRL-4), as shown in Figure 25. The testbed was developed using DAS
components from solids [71]. The testbed consists of an MU, EU, and a single RU with an AE. The
transmission power from the BSI ranges from -20 dBm to +10 dBm, with variable attenuation of up to 30
dB. The 5-W MPROU delivers +37 dBm of output power per band at the antenna port for all commercial
bands. This 5-W MPROU can simultaneously support seven bands with a frequency range of 136 MHz to
2.6 GHz, with an add-on RU to support very-high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency bands.

Figure 15. DAS testbed installation at INL's Human System Simulation Lab. Left: MPROU, Right: BU

8.3 Wireless Local Area Networks

Sensing systems that use WLAN technologies to broadcast data can also be integrated into the
communication infrastructure. As indicated in Figure 24, WiFi access points are distributed throughout
the plant. The measurement data are broadcasted to a WLAN router connected to an internal plant
network. The in-plant network delivers the measurement data to the data cloud.
WLAN [73] features low coverage and limited-capacity access points. WLAN operates at unlicensed
spectrums of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz capable of providing high-data-rate internet connections.
WLAN distributes the network capacity by allotting wireless APs with limited frequencies. This is similar
in principle to cellular networks, fostering the ability to fulfill coverage and capacity requirements. Since

xxx
WLANs operate at unlicensed bands, interference will most likely be caused by neighboring APs. It is
necessary to have transmission power control to properly distribute the APs. The sixth-generation WiFi
standard 802.11ax [73, 74], also known as “WiFi-6,” is the latest step in WLAN advancement. WiFi-6 is
aimed at high flexibility and scalability. This standard enables expansions to include new and existing
networks for powering next-generation applications. WiFi-6 enhances network throughput due to
advanced orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multi-input multi-
output (MU-MIMO) with beamforming capability. WiFi-6 uses the higher modulation enabled by
1024-QAM. With MU-MIMO capability, WiFi-6 can simultaneously transmit eight different spatially
directed streams. In addition, WiFi-6 also supports low-power and low-bandwidth applications using a 2-
MHz channel bandwidth. WiFi-6 can use flexible low-power device scheduling with Target Wakeup
Time. Moreover, in the 2.4-GHz band, the 20-MHz allocated bandwidths can be divided into nine 2-MHz
channels. Any 2-MHz channel can be left unused to avoid conflicts with other existing IoT technologies
such as Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, etc. WiFi-6 also has built-in security strategies.
With NPP deployment, the WiFi APs are distributed across different sections of the NPP with proper
transmit power control. The sensor node using the WiFi technology will initially be in idle mode to save
power. When data is available to transmit, it will change from idle to active. When active, the sensor node
receives the beacon signal sent by each AP at 1-ms intervals. The sensor node determines the SNR level
of the received beacon signal and connects to an AP that has a maximum SNR. The connection request
from the sensor node will be approved by the relevant AP. Once the connection is established, the sensor
node starts transmitting the measurement data. The received data at the AP will be sent via ethernet cable
to the router in the form of a data packet. The router routes the received data packet to the connected
modulator-demodulator (MODEM) device. The MODEM uses a digital-to-analog converter to convert
the received packets into a baseband analog signal, then modulates that signal. The modulated signal will
be sent via coaxial or optical cable to the internet service provider and then to the cloud.
8.4 Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Band Technologies
Several wireless technologies such as LoRaWAN [75], RFID [76], etc., operate in the unlicensed
ISM band (900 MHz in North America) for low-power, low-bit-rate, and long-range applications. Each
technology has its own physical layer design, Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocols, and security
algorithms. Two common applications that utilize this ISM band are (1) device tracking via RFID and (2)
device monitoring and control using LoRaWAN. As stated earlier, these technologies can be integrated
along with cellular technology using a DAS structure. Besides interconnecting other networks such as
Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee, sensor modules such as video surveillance and mmWave radar can be
connected to either cellular or WLAN networks, without additional expensive cable installations.
ISM-band technologies such as RFID and LoRaWAN front-end are connected to the DAS structure.
Sensors using LoRaWAN or RFID will send the signal through the DAS antenna. Like a cellular signal,
the ISM band signal will go through MPROU as an RF signal, then to ODU as an optical signal. At BSI,
the filters for the ISM band extract RFID and LoRaWAN signals, and these are sent to their respective
servers. At the server, the received RF signal is converted into data packets. The back-ends of the RFID
and LoRaWAN servers are connected to the plant’s ethernet, over which the converted data packets are
transmitted to the cloud through the router and MODEM.
8.5 Relay/Repeater Configuration
The repeater is a device that receives the signal at one end, performs the necessary conversion of the
data format, and transmits at the other end. In this configuration, the repeater receives RFID data at the
front-end and forwards them to the cloud through DAS/WiFi at the back-end. The relay node employs a
signal conversion mechanism in which the received signal is down-converted to a baseband signal. The
baseband signal is converted into digital packets, then internet protocol, MAC, and payload information
are extracted. Note that the MAC information is unique to each device and determines the device’s

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physical address. Using the transmission control protocol (TCP)/IP protocol, the relay node sends
feedback to the RFID node every time it receives a payload. This feature is necessary to ensure that the
data received from the RFID node is free of errors. After verifying the payload, the payload is appended
with an IP address and the MAC information of the relay node. This constitutes a “packet.” The packet is
converted into an analog baseband signal using a digital-to-analog converter. The baseband signal is then
up-converted using a modulation scheme specific to wireless communication protocols. For example,
WiFi and Cellular LTE use quadrature amplitude modulation with an OFDMA mechanism, whereas
LoRaWAN uses spread-spectrum modulation. The modulated signal will be transmitted to the cloud
either by DAS antenna (if the relay uses cellular/LoRaWAN) or WiFi AP.
The main advantages of the proposed network architecture in Figure 24 are (1) efficient deployment
and modification, (2) scalability, (3) customizable network architecture and security options, and (4)
network resiliency. Communication network resiliency will enable multi-path routing if an AP or DAS
antenna fails or becomes jammed. A nearby AP or DAS antenna can receive the measurement data and
dynamically re-route the signals to the cloud.
Table 1 compares different wireless technologies that enable industrial automation in NPPs. Both
LTE and WiFi-6 support higher data rates using an OFDMA modulation scheme with MU-MIMO,
whereas RFID, LoRaWAN, and BLE-5 support lower data rates and use either LTE or WiFi-6 to send the
data to the cloud. WiFi-6 and LTE have shorter ranges, while the other technologies can transmit data
over longer ranges. All the technologies provide different levels of security for transmitting data with
minimal risk. Since LTE and WiFi-6 provide IP address capability, complex and sophisticated security
protocols can be enabled for those standards. Applications such as RFID that have low bitrates and
infrequent communication bursts can extend battery life. Note that wireless technologies are not limited to
those listed in Table 1; other technologies such as Zigbee, SigFox, etc., can also be considered.
Table 1. Comparison of different wireless technologies.
LTE WiFi-6 BLE-5 LoRaWAN RFID

Data Up to 10 Up to 4.8 Up to 2 Mbps Up to 50 Kbps Up to

Throughput Gbps Gbps 128 Kbps

Range 500 m 100 m Up to 750 m 10 km Up to 300 m

Power A few hours Up to 1 year Up to years on Up to years on Over 6 years

Consumption on AA a coin cell a coin cell
batteries battery battery

Frequency 600 MHz–6 2.4 and 5 GHz 2.4 GHz 902–928 MHz 120 kHz–10
Band GHz and 24 (U.S.) GHz
–86 GHz

Modulation OFDM OFDM GFSK Spread ASK, PSK, or

Spectrum FSK

IP at the Device Yes Yes No No No

Licensed Both Unlicense Unlicense Unlicensed Unlicense

d d d

Security NAS/A WEP, WPA 128-bit AES 128-bit AES Available

S etc.

FSK: frequency shift keying, PSK: phase shift keying, ASK: amplitude shift keying, GFSK: Gaussian

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frequency shift keying, OFDM: orthogonal frequency division multiplex, WEP: wired equivalent privacy,
WPA: WiFi protected access, AES: Advanced Encryption Standard.

9. WIRELESS PLAN GOING FORWARD

This plan presents a wireless sensing and communication system for use within a reactor core.
Ceramic-based high-temperature sensors that are wireless and passively powered will be integrated into a
communication network to enable delivery of in-core data to a cloud database and a data processing
center. The system will provide real-time sensing for in-core nuclear applications subject to high-
temperature, high-pressure, high-radiation fluxes and oxidation challenges. This will require the use of
sensors that are robust with respect to high-radiation and high-temperature environments. The goal is to
collect real-time information from sensors located throughout the reactor, so the reactor core and fuel
elements within can be monitored cost-effectively using precise, localized measurements. The high-
temperature- and radiation-resistant sensors will be suitable for a variety of reactor types (e.g., LWRs, gas
reactors, etc.).
An advantage of PDC sensors is their multi-sensing capability for simultaneously measuring
temperature, pressure, strain, and various other parameters. The sensors will be frequency-multiplexed,
with multiple micro-patch antennas designed to resonate in different frequency bands. An advanced
communications system will be developed in which multiple sensors can be interrogated directly.
Instrumentation to demodulate, process, and digitize the data will be located in a more hospitable
environment within the containment building.
To meet the plan goals, development of the wireless sensing and communication system will be
phased according to the following stages. The individual technologies, RFID sensors and infrastructure,
and the balance of the plant communication network are currently at TRL-4.
 Each technology will require modification to integrate with the other technologies.
 RF sensors will need to be integrated into the RFID infrastructure.
 The RFID infrastructure will be integrated with the balance of the plant network.
 TRL-4 testing will be conducted for the fully integrated wireless sensing and communication
system.
At every stage, the sensing system will be tested to ensure measurement quality and communication
system efficiency. From the initial sensor stage consisting of lab RFID instrumentation to TRL-4 testing
of the fully integrated system, all subsystems and integrated systems will be quality tested. The RFID
infrastructure will be designed to multiplex multiple sensors. A multiplexing system with at least six
multiplexed sensors will be designed and benchmarked against industry-standard thermocouples.
Temperature testing will take place in furnaces at the various facilities where the integration is taking
place. It is anticipated that the fully integrated system will be TRL-4-tested using an autoclave at INL’s
HTTL.
The sensor has salient design parameters that will feed forward into the RFID infrastructure. The
resonant frequency for a ceramic sensor in a reactor’s working environment falls in the range of 1–10
GHz. The specific centerband frequency and frequency range for each sensor will be decided in Stage 1.
The transmitter power and the power received at the sensor will also be decided in Stage 1. The estimated
minimum power needing to be received by the sensor in order to be fully functional is 0.363 mW in free
space at 5 GHz. The in-situ temperature and pressure conditions inside the reactor core will be collected
in real-time (sampling rate of at least 1 Hz).

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 9.1 RFID Sensing Infrastructure
The RFID sensing infrastructure consists mostly of the RF interrogator, which operates as an
intermediary layer for communication between the passive RF sensor node inside the fuel rod and the
balance of the plant network. The interrogator can be installed in the containment building outside the
pressure vessel. The interrogator has its own power source, a reliable connection to the balance of the
plant network via LAN or WiFi over a TCP/IP network, and a coaxial wired connection with a transceiver
antenna inside the reactor pressure vessel. A schematic of the RF interrogator is shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26. Schematic of an RF interrogator for wireless communication with the passive RF sensor node
and the relaying of information to the balance of the plant network.

The RF interrogator can transmit over a range of frequencies (1–5 GHz) to wirelessly power the
passive RFID sensor via a transceiver antenna that is 3 cm x 3 cm. The passive RFID sensor backscatters
the RF signal with modulated sensor information. The backscattered signal is acquired by the RF
interrogator. The interrogator’s data acquisition system demodulates the passive RFID sensor signal,
digitizes it, and processes it to extract precise sensing information. The processed digital data is
reformatted and stored in local memory, ready for transfer to the balance of the plant network over a
TCP/IP network. Data from the RF interrogator can be transferred in real-time to the balance of the plant
network at a sample rate of 1s.
Development of the RF interrogator system will feature the following milestones:
1. PDC sensor integration with the RF node: Passive RF nodes can have single or multiple sensing
elements (up to six). For this work, a PDC-based sensor that changes its resistance according to
the surrounding temperature will be connected to an RF antenna, shifting the antenna’s resonance
frequency due to impedance loading. As a result, the reflected or backscattered signal will be
modulated accordingly. The PDC measurements will be benchmarked against those of traditional
wired sensors.
2. Designing the wideband transceiver antenna and RF front-end: A wideband transceiver antenna
for wireless communication will be designed to reliably operate inside the reactor pressure vessel
while immersed in a liquid medium. The RF front-end will transmit continuous RF power at a
frequency range of 1–5 GHz. An appropriate amount of RF power can be radiated using the
transceiver antenna to actuate the passive RF sensor node at the estimated minimum required
power level of 0.363 mW. Additionally, it will be able to receive the reflected signal and
demodulate the sensor information.

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 3. Information digitization and TCP/IP transmission: The demodulated signal from the RF front-
end will be digitized and processed using the RF interrogator’s onboard resources. The processed
signal will be stored in local memory before transmission over a TCP/IP network. A network chip
will be integrated with the processing unit for realizing standard TCP/IP communication external
to the RF interrogator.
4. Testing the RF interrogator at Michigan State University (MSU): For testing the communication
range and sensing capacity of the RF interrogator, the passive RF sensor node with an integrated
temperature sensor will be placed at distances of 0.1–1 m from the transceiver antenna
encompassed in the liquid medium. A real-time reading of the temperature sensor will be shown
on a computer connected to the RF interrogator. The PDC measurements will be benchmarked
against those of traditional wired sensors. Moreover, the TCP/IP communication method will be
demonstrated by plotting the temperature data on a simple web API, using a different computer
connected to the same network or internet server.
9.2 Balance of the Plant Network
This plan presents a balance of the plant network system for use throughout the plant’s infrastructure.
It also includes getting the data from the sensors installed within the reactor core and containment
building. The reactor core data is stored within the RFID infrastructure inside the containment building.
RFID sensor data can be transmitted to a relay/repeater device kept close by outside the containment
building. The communication protocol can be a serial protocol such as TCP/IP. The serial protocol allows
for a single cable to transmit the data, along with existing containment electrical cable trays and wall
feedthroughs. If the containment building has an accessible network, the sensor data might be directly
transferrable to the plant’s network.
As previously discussed, the technology to wirelessly transmit data through the containment walls is
currently in the initial stages of research. Thus, the connectivity from the RFID infrastructure inside the
containment building to the repeater will initially consist of a single coaxial cable connection. The
repeater converts the received digital data into a wireless-specific protocol. Then the repeater node
transmits the converted data to the closest working DAS antenna, and the signal from the antenna goes
through the plant’s DAS infrastructure. Note that the repeater can also be connected to a WiFi AP. The
WiFi AP can deliver the data to the cloud via the plant LAN network. At the plant’s DAS back-end, the
signal is filtered using the appropriate frequency band. The filtered RF signal will be uploaded to the
cloud over the cellular backhaul or through the cable ISP, as shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27. Data flow from the reactor core to the cloud using the balance of the plant network.

To achieve the above-mentioned functionality, a software-defined radio (SDR) will be used to

develop a relay/repeater node. SDRs support both wired and wireless transmissions. The main advantage
of using an SDR is that all the network configurations are programmable and support a frequency range
of MHz to GHz. This capability enables connection to a relay/repeater node from a WiFi AP or DAS

xxxv
antenna. The choice will be based on signal quality and network congestion. This HetNet technology
capability with relays/repeaters is advantageous in compensating for equipment failures and adverse data
transmission conditions. HetNet also enables meeting QoS and bandwidth requirements. In addition, the
SDR can be used to develop customized security protocols at both the wired and wireless connections.
To meet the plan goals, development of the balance of the plant network will be phased according to
the following stages.
1. Developing a TCP/IP signal emulator: An RFID signal with a TCP/IP protocol will be
emulated using a signal-generating device. Signal-generation characteristics in terms of
bitrate and bandwidth will match the output protocols of the RFID infrastructure. This
enables parallel development of the RFID infrastructure and balance of the plant network.
2. Developing HetNet wireless configuration: At the back-end of the SDR a HetNet wireless
configuration supporting WiFi and DAS architecture will be developed. This configuration
will be tested by connecting to INL’s DAS testbed and WiFi.
3. Modify the existing communication system to integrate the RFID infrastructure: Using the
SDR device at the front-end, the necessary configurations will be developed for the physical,
MAC, and network layers. The developed configurations will decode signals and extract
network-related information such as IP and MAC. The modified configurations will be tested
using the TCP/IP signal emulator. Any necessary modifications to the SDR-based
relay/repeater configuration will be addressed. Data transmission will be tested at every stage
using signal analyzers.
4. Integrate RFID infrastructure with the developed SDR-based relay/repeater module: The
developed SDR-based relay/repeater device will be integrated with the RFID infrastructure
developed at MSU. The fully integrated wireless sensing and communication system will be
tested at INL’s communication lab at near room temperature. As part of the system testing,
the end-to-end performance, network delay, and received data quality will be analyzed.
5. Testing at HTTL: The fully integrated wireless sensing and communication system will be
installed in INL’s HTTL, and the RFID sensor will be tested within an autoclave. Placement
of the relay/repeater can follow multiple configurations. Currently, the most effective NPP
deployment configuration is as follows: the relay/repeater is placed in the HTTL, and the
relay is connected to INL’s wireless link. Measurement data will be transmitted to the cloud
housed in another building several blocks away. As part of the system testing, end-to-end
performance, network delay, and received data quality will be analyzed. The RFID sensors
will also be benchmarked against traditional wired sensors.

10. WIRELESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

In this section, a technical roadmap is discussed for deploying battery-less (passive) sensing and
communication technology for a Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) that addresses future challenges. The
passive system is ideal for nuclear applications, as it requires no maintenance during its lifetime and can
operate from inside the RPV without a wired connection. Figure 28 shows an RPV with integrated
passive multi-sensing nodes in various locations. The RPV is the largest, most important structure in an
NPP, as it houses the coolant and nuclear core. It is typically made of high-quality carbon steel and
stainless steel. The wall thickness of an RPV varies from 150 to 400 mm, and the operating temperature
and pressure range as high as 500o C and 200 bar, respectively, depending on coolant type.

xxxvi
Figure. 28. Simplified model of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel and the eight battery-less sensing nodes
integrated inside featuring radiation-hardened electronics and high-temperature sensors.

10.1 Sensor Integration

Each passive sensing node can house multiple resistive sensors (up to 6 in this version). The sensors
relate to temperature, pressure, strain, etc. In this report, a PDC-based high-temperature sensor was
selected in order to explain the sensor integration [20]. PDC temperature sensors can survive in up to
1500oC and offer excellent linearity. Additionally, the effects of radiation on ceramics are negligible.
Changes in resistance due to temperature can be measured using the passive sensing node, which
generates a corresponding unique sinusoid signature. The frequency of the sinusoidal signal varies
according to temperature, and this signal can be wirelessly communicated to an interrogator. The
mechanism for wireless communication from inside an RPV is discussed in the next section. A number of
nodes can be installed inside the RPV, containing numerous sensors to measure various reactor
parameters at multiple locations. The electronics required to process incoming commands and sensor
signals must be radiation-hardened. This particular sensing configuration and corresponding capabilities
would also enable testing and monitoring of materials and components (such as electronic circuits) while
during irradiation.
10.2 Wireless Communication from Inside the RPV
An interrogator is required to communicate with the passive sensing nodes installed inside the RPV.
No RF signal can penetrate a 140–400-mm-thick steel wall. Therefore, a novel acoustic interrogator is
required to send and receive information from the sensors. The acoustic waves propagate via the steel
wall without any problem and can transfer the power required to operate the battery-less sensing node.
The acoustic bandwidth limits faster communication but is sufficient for real-time monitoring of
conditions inside the RPV at 1 Hz. The acoustic interrogator also has an active RF communication circuit
to relay the information to a supervisory control and data acquisition system. Figure 29 shows the
configuration of various interrogators and the sensing node placement. Both devices communicate
through the steel wall.

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Figure 29. Acoustic interrogator for wirelessly communicating inside the RPV.

The acoustic communication system will resemble the two battery-less monitoring topologies
explained above. The key difference lies in replacing the RF antenna with an acoustic transducer array
capable of receiving enough power to actuate the monitoring circuit and transmit back the information.
Figure 30 shows an example architecture for a battery-less sensing node based on the acoustic
communication system proposed by MSU. The components shown in Figure 30 were previously realized
for different applications [11] and can be further refined for nuclear applications. The acoustic power
harvester, backscatterer, and processing unit circuits can be miniaturized into a small footprint with
radiation-tolerant packaging. Additionally, the acoustic waves can be used for communication among the
sensor nodes by integrating multi-sensors within the RPV. The acoustic signal can be transmitted through
the coolant at communication distances of up to several meters. This is similar to underwater sonar.
Therefore, the sensors can be placed anywhere inside the RPV, and not simply near wall locations, as
long as the line of sight can be maintained.

Figure 30. Architecture of the battery-less sensing node with a wireless acoustic communication system.

xxxviii
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