Next-Generation Power Systems of

CTBTO’s International Monitoring System (IMS)

Marián Jusko November 15, 2018
Seismic Engineering Officer, IMS/ED
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
Vienna, Austria
[email protected]
ABOUT the Treaty:

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization has a mandate to ensure no nuclear explosion goes undetected

• Opened for signature on 24 September 1996 with a task to construct the International Monitoring System (IMS) verification regime
to act as a deterrent against nuclear testing

• The IMS facilitates world-wide monitoring for potential nuclear tests through inspection of seismic,
infrasound, hydroacoustic, and radionuclide signals received near real-time at the CTBTO’s
International Data Center (IDC) in Vienna, Austria

Nearly universal:
Member States: 184 Total Ratifications: 167 Annex 2 Ratifications: 36
(As of November 2018)

Entry-into-Force pending ratification of 8 States (out of 44 nuclear technology holder States listed in Annex 2 of the Treaty)
 Stringent IMS requirements for:

Annual Data Availability (DA): ≥ 98%

Annual Timely Data Availability (TDA): ≥ 97%
Next-Generation Power Systems
of CTBTO’s International Monitoring System (IMS)

-450C +700C

-400C +600C
 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS:

OBJECTIVE:

Design a flexible power system platform which supports integration of multiple technologies and facilitates flexible exchange of
system components according to site-specific environmental and logistical factors

1. Devise reliable, purpose-built power systems to suit all IMS environments without the need of station-by-station redesign

2. Employ modular approach, which is flexible but also provides uniformity across all use cases, in support of both efficient
operations and economies of scale

3. Utilize open system architecture, supporting ad-hoc substitutions of power system components, easily adaptable to site-specific and
application-specific power input and output needs and environmental conditions

4. Need year-round uptime with fully autonomous and independent power sources, integrated with “smart” networked devices
facilitating real-time State of Health (SOH) monitoring, remote component management, and alert notifications

5. Generate “Clean Power”: Power system components must not compromise data quality within the Seismic, Hydroacoustic, and
Infrasound (SHI) IMS frequency band of 0.02-100Hz

6. Facilitate quick in-the-field deployment with minimized possibilities of installation errors:

“Design for Deployment” approach for simplified field installation and reduced technician competency requirement
(i.e. modular subassemblies, pre-connectorized cable harnesses with keyed connectors, etc.)

-400C +600C
APPROACH:
• Power systems categorized by load and environmental requirements:
 Category I: Load ≤ 40 W Most IMS SHI stations without Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI) V-Sat equipment
 Category II: Load ≤ 200 W Auxiliary Seismic stations with GCI equipment
 Category III: Load ≤ 3 kW Central Recording Facilities (CRFs)
 Category IV: Load 5–10+ kW CRFs also supplying power to the remote elements (IMS RN Stations with higher load requirements)
 Category V: Polar Regions Category I-IV power systems with hardened components for extreme power environments

• In response to the design and technical requirements, the following two power system platforms were identified:

 Remote Station Power System Platform: Loads from 40-200 W

 Central Recording Facility (CRF) Power System Platform: Loads from 3 – 10+ kW

• Given the significantly larger load requirements associated with the CRF Power System Platform, the presented solutions for Category III &
IV power systems are commercially available turn-key systems from well established vendors and systems integrators, specializing in off-
the-grid power supply with similar system load requirements

• The Remote System Platform, on the other hand, offers great level of flexibility to customize or freely interchange any
sub-system components as new products and technologies emerge on the market
Remote Station Power System Platform
PHYSICAL INTERFACE:

The platform has been designed to emphasize flexibility and

modularity. Omitting the power generation equipment, the
platform generally comprises of the below three physical modules:
HIGHLY-CUSTOMIZABLE ENCLOSURES

• Wide Ingress Protection (IP) rating up to IP66

• Insulated / uninsulated w. or w/o heating or cooling options

• Can be fitted with connectorized cable fittings (MIL-C, etc.)

• All components are DIN-rail mountable

• Stainless steel variants available for marine climates

• Pole-mount, wall-mount, chest-style options

• Suppliers: Eldon, Rittal, DPW Solar, Bison ProFab, etc.

 • Flexible open-systems
platform facilitates free
inter-change of charge
controllers depending on
the site-specific use case
and availability, i.e.

Delta-q IC650: Cat. I. AC (1-phase)

Victron SkylaTG: Cat. II. AC (1 or 3-phase)

• The capacity of the

battery bank is scaled
up or down to achieve
the desired backup
Tristar MPPT: Cat. I. or II. PV
power autonomy
• All three charge controller examples classified as “smart” chargers with extended operating temperature range usable down to -400 C
POWER CONTROL CENTER (PCC)

• Remote control, SOH monitoring, and event notification of

critical subsystems is a key in operating mission-critical networks

• ControlByWeb X-600M I/O controller with X-16s & X-17s expansion modules facilitates fully
IP-enabled and robust industrial monitoring and control platform

• Modular, scalable, highly configurable and supports interaction and reporting via web server,
email, SNMP and other protocols (Modbus TCP/IP, etc.)

• Asynchronous alerts may be generated via SNMP traps for fault conditions and alarms

• Depending on component selection, system control functions may include:

 Input power overcurrent alarm and remote reset

 PV primary power disconnect on arc fault detection
 Multiple load Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD)
 Load on/off control, etc.

• B+B SmartWorx ESW205-T Ethernet Hub, to support interface with IP-enabled charge controllers

 For added redundancy, Xeos XI-202 Iridium-based Short Burst

Data (SBD) satellite communication terminal may be included to
maintain remote monitoring and control in the event of primary
communication link interruptions
 PS09 Yukon, Canada

Hybrid PV (primary) / TEG (secondary) power system

• PV provides primary power 11 / 12 months
• TEG provides primary power in December and
acts as emergency backup throughout the other months
FUEL CELLS:
• Newly emerging technology gaining in momentum due to
its environmental-friendly characteristics
• DMFC system successfully deployed at PS19 GERES yielding
100% data availability after nearly 2 years of uninterrupted operation
(efficiency of ~ 50-60%)
Central Recording Facility (CRF) Power System Platform
 CRF POWER SYSTEM PLATFORM OBJECTIVE:

Following extensive market research and vendor

engagement, identify best-fit candidates providing turn-key,
off-the-grid power solution viable for the IMS Category III & IV
power systems with load requirements between 3 to 10+ kW

• Important selection criteria was to approach well-established vendors demonstrating past experience deploying
off-the-grid power systems in versatile environments similar to those of the IMS

• After engaging over 70 vendors, the following vendors were identified for further consideration and factory acceptance testing:

1. Polar Power Inc. (USA) • All of the presented solutions support integration of several different power
sources, some of which may be supplied from an external soruce, or generated
locally (i.e. AC / PV / Wind / Diesel Generator, or any combination thereof).
2. Eltek (Norway)

• A key difference from the Remote Station platform is that the backup source is
3. Northern Reliability (USA) expected to operate much more frequently at a CRF. This is because PV arrays would
generally have to be prohibitively large to support the full load independently year-round

• Due to the above, high-capacity diesel generators are required to provide the necessary scalability

• Each CRF power solutions therefore consists of at least one primary power source and one backup power source
• Polar Power engineers DC power systems for telecomm, military, renewable energy, marine, oilfield applications, etc.

• Features specialized DC generator-based system, which is physically smaller and considered more reliable due to the reduced
number of moving parts. Reduces dependency on battery banks as the primary backup power source (PV / DC gen. most reliable)

• Extensive polar experience with specialized components such as a supercapacitor for cold-start of the system and customized enclosures
with integrated DC-powered fans. Supports fully autonomous operation with remote control and monitoring

• Systems optimized for DC operation, but may also support AC input and loads with custom add-ons

 I.e. solar array and wind generator can be added at any time for further fuel consumption reduction
• DC Generator designed for
extreme weather climates (all
aluminum cabinet with
stainless hardware, corrosion
resistant (IP 55))

• Compatible with various fuel

sources: propane, natural
gas, diesel

• 1.6m x 1.6m x 1.8m footprint

• Can operate 6-12 months

without maintenance

• Engineered to provide 15-25

year service life

• 800A or up to 1692A Lithium-

Ion battery capacity

• 24/7 NOC support and

monitoring
 Eltek Flatpack2 System

• Modular solution designed for maximum flexibility and scalability, with support for
redundancy and hot-swapping of components (marine-rated components available)

• Supports various power sources (AC, PV, Wind, etc.), features automated battery testing

• Features unique “high efficiency (HE)” power conversion with rectiverters

• Advanced monitoring and control system via the Smartpack controller (with SNMP support)

• State of the art Eltek Flatpack2 UPS with Li-ion battery bank installed at PS28 Norway CRF
(acts as Category IV power system, also supplying load to all 25 remote elements; 100%
data availability since time of the installation in early 2016)

• Despite ~ 3 x the cost of traditional Sealed Lead Acid

batteries, the benefits include:
 ~ 2-3 x higher energy density
 ~ 50% weight reduction
 ~ 30% volume reduction
 Larger operational temperature range (-400C to 600C)
 Lower life cycle cost
 Potential for 15+ year life cycle (with proper DoD management)
• Eltek provides a variety of environmental cabinets
with air filters, heat or cool control to facilitate
outdoor deployment in versatile climates

• Cabinets can be connected to the monitoring

network and controlled remotely

• Advanced Lithium-Ion battery storage (made by Saft)

features integrated thermal management to maintain
the battery bank within the optimal charge / discharge
temperature range
NRI UPS/SPS Hybrid Systems

• Provides off-the-shelf, customizable power systems for a variety of applications and climates

• Experience with a variety of energy technologies, including AC, batteries, wind energy systems,
generators, fuel cells, PV systems, environmentally-conditioned cabinets, and remote monitoring
Software

• Features separate AC and DC solutions combined to produce semi-custom platform

• AC mains support with the UPS 12 and scalable power generation with the modular SPS system
(NRI’s backbone SPS hybrid power system consists of PV with diesel AC generator and/or wind turbine)

• Offers elegant monitoring and remote control solution

• Comprehensive system enclosure solutions for extreme environments

• Broad range of services also available: i.e. site analysis, feasibility studies, installation, etc.

• History of successful power system deployment in Polar regions (i.e. IMS station IS55 Antarctica)

• The proposed power system for the IMS CRF application by NRI consists of:
 Hybrid PV / diesel generator system, with Wind as the optional secondary power source
 Lithium-based battery bank installed inside appropriately insulated and ventilated cabinets

• The system allows for remote execution of command

& control such as: generator start/stop, equipment
power cycling, selective load shedding, etc.
 IMS station IS55 – Windless Bight, Antarctica

• NRI Hybrid PV / Diesel Generator power system deployed at IS55 Antarctica in 2001 (still in use until present)

• CRF co-acting as power distribution source to 8 x IS55 remote elements

• PV array, consisting of 36 solar panels oriented to east and west

• NRI SC1000 Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) controls all power functions

• For increased redundancy, critical power system components are doubled:

• Two independent diesel generators and rectifiers

• Two separate battery banks

• Two separate DC/DC converters inside all of the remote elements

Thank you!