Real-time mixed-traffic wireless networks

In this paper we introduce a new protocol, prioritized carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance, for real-time wireless local area networking. Wireless networks increasingly will be called upon to carry mixed traffic, some portion of which will be devoted to real-time control and monitoring. Our protocol, based upon the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard, mixes real-time traffic with standard multimedia data in a way which assures loop stability. Scheduling the real-time traffic is the primary issue considered. Under our framework, we propose and validate several new algorithms for dynamically scheduling the traffic of wireless networked control systems: constant penalty, estimated error order and lag first-order schemes. All algorithms are compared via simulation and the results show that dynamic scheduling algorithms achieve better system performance on average than static scheduling algorithms like fixed-order polling. The results of a real experiment involving two dryer plants and three IEEE 802.11 nodes are reported with static scheduling employed as it lower bounds the closed-loop behavior     

Solvent-Free Electrolyte for High-Temperature Rechargeable Lithium Metal Batteries

The formation of lithiophobic inorganic solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Li anode and cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) on the cathode is beneficial for high-voltage Li metal batteries. However, in most liquid electrolytes, the decomposition of organic solvents inevitably forms organic components in the SEI and CEI. In addition, organic solvents often pose substantial safety risks due to their high volatility and flammability. Herein, an organic-solvent-free eutectic electrolyte based on low-melting alkali perfluorinated-sulfonimide salts is reported. The exclusive anion reduction on Li anode surface results in an inorganic, LiF-rich SEI with high capability to suppress Li dendrite, as evidenced by the high Li plating/stripping CE of 99.4% at 0.5  mA cm⁻² and 1.0 mAh cm⁻², and 200-cycle lifespan of full LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ (2.0 mAh cm⁻²) || Li (20 µm) cells at 80 °C. The proposed eutectic electrolyte is promising for ultrasafe and high-energy Li metal batteries.