MRI: Development of Pulsar-based Power Grid Timing Instrumentation and Technology

电网是实现从电厂到终端用户电力服务基本连续性的重要环节。广域测量系统监测大容量电网，并为理解和响应电力系统干扰提供关键信息，以防止停电。美国现有的广域测量系统依靠全球导航卫星系统（GPS）提供授时源。然而，GPS信号容易受到恶意攻击。由于许多关键基础设施依赖于电力系统，现代电力系统对GPS的日益依赖给美国经济和关键基础设施的安全带来了重大风险。该项目将开发一个可靠的基于脉冲星的授时系统，其中授时源在物理上是不可破坏的。这样一个可靠的定时系统将提高下一代美国电网的弹性，以及许多其他需要可靠和安全的时间同步的行业部门，包括通信系统、运输系统和应急服务部门。该仪器还将为K-12和STEM学生提供许多教育资源和机会。该项目的主要目标是开发一种基于脉冲星的授时仪器，该仪器能够提供准确、稳定的授时信号，不受物理攻击的影响，并可能彻底改变授时技术。特别是脉冲星授时可以减少现代电力系统对GNSS的依赖。该仪器将包括四个主要部分，包括：(1)用于脉冲星信号接收的射电望远镜阵列；(2)脉冲星信号传输与处理系统，从脉冲星信号中滤除噪声，提取毫秒定时脉冲；(3)定时信号产生系统，输出高精度定时脉冲；(4)时序分配系统，将脉冲星接收系统产生的时序信号分配给电力系统设备。该仪器可以促进各种前沿研究活动，包括检测GNSS中断和攻击，开发基于脉冲星定时的电力系统控制器，以及与相关GNSS/NTP/混合定时技术的集成。该仪器将成为第一个将天体授时技术引入工业应用的授时源，并将使一系列应用可能对许多其他需要精确和安全时间同步的工程系统产生广泛影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Power grids are vital links to achieve the essential continuity of electricity service from power plants to end-users. Wide-area measurement systems monitor bulk power grids and provide critical information for understanding and responding to power system disturbances to prevent blackouts. Existing wide-area measurement systems in the U.S. rely on the Global Navigation Satellite System (or GPS) to provide the timing source. However, GPS signals are vulnerable to malicious attacks. As many critical infrastructures depend on power systems, the increasing reliance of modern power systems on GPS has created a major risk for security of the U.S. economy and critical infrastructures. This project will develop a reliable pulsar-based timing system where the timing source is physically indestructible. Such a reliable timing system will improve the resilience of next generation U.S. power grids, and many other industry sectors that requires reliable and secure time synchronization, including communication systems, transportation systems, and the emergency service sector. The instrument will also provide many education resources and opportunities for K-12 and STEM students.The project's primary goal is to develop a pulsar-based timing instrument that is capable of providing accurate and stable timing signals that are immune to physical attacks and potentially revolutionize timing technologies. In particular, pulsar timing could reduce the dependency of modern electric power system on GNSS. This instrument will include four major parts, including: (1) a radio telescope array for pulsar signal reception; (2) a pulsar signal transmission and processing system to filter out noises and extract millisecond timing pulses from pulsar signals; (3) a timing signal generation system to output high-precision timing pulse; and (4) a timing distribution system to distribute the time signal generated by pulsar receiver system to power system devices. This instrument can facilitate a variety of cutting-edge research activities, including detection of GNSS outages and attacks, development of pulsar timing-based power system controllers, and integration with related GNSS/NTP/hybrid timing technologies. This instrument will become the first timing source that introduces celestial timing technology into industry applications and will also enable a series of applications that may have broad impacts on many other engineering systems that require accurate and secure time synchronization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.