Qualification of Two Unmanned Aerial Systems for Wind and Turbulence Observations in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Qualification of Two Unmanned Aerial Systems for Wind and Turbulence Observations in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer PDF Author: Sara Alaoui-Sosse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for atmospheric research during the last years undergoes a remarkable growth all over the world due to their several advantages. They are a new tool for profiling the main parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) such as temperature, humidity and wind vector, as well as for turbulence observations. Their development was inspired by instrumented airplanes. In addition, they are complementary to other existing platforms such as instrumented towers and airplanes, and radiosondes, since they can fly in areas unreachable by these other platforms. We have developed two instrumentation packages for wind and turbulence observations in the atmospheric boundary layer for two UAVs of distinct sizes. The first one is a small size UAV (3.5 kg payload included and with a wingspan of 2.6 m) called OVLI-TA (Objet Volant Leger Instrumenté-Turbulence Atmosphérique). The second one is the fixed wing UAV called BOREAL which has a larger size (25 kg including a payload of 5 kg and with a wingspan of 4.2 m).The meteorological instrumental package of OVLI-TA is composed of a five-hole probe that replaces the nose of the drone, a Pitot probe to measure static and dynamic pressure, a fast inertial measurement unit, a GPS receiver, as well as temperature and moisture sensors. Moreover, for autonomous flights the Pixhawk autopilot is used. The wind tunnel calibrations of the five-hole probe were conducted in order to determine the calibration coefficients of the angles of attack and sideslip. I present the analysis of a qualification flight test conducted in March 2016 in Lannemezan, in the atmospheric research center (CRA) equipped with an instrumented 60 m tower, as well as of the flights conducted in June and July 2016 during the international project DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Clouds Interactions in West Africa), in Benin. This study allows evaluating the capacity and performances of OVLI-TA to measure mean values of wind, temperature and humidity, along with turbulence. In this assessment, observations from the 60 m tower and radiosondes were used as a reference.BOREAL's advantages over OVLI-TA lie in its larger payload capacity, its flight endurance that could reach 9 hours, and also its ability to fly in more adverse weather conditions. The developed instrumentation includes a GPS-IMU platform, a five-hole probe replacing the nose of the UAV which measures the angles of attack and sideslip, a Pitot tube, in addition to temperature and humidity sensors. In order to calibrate the five-hole probe, I analyzed the data of wind tunnel test and I used FLUENT software for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Furthermore, the first qualification flight test conducted in 2018 allowed us to determine the optimal airspeed of the UAV at which the vibrations are significantly reduced to an acceptable level. Subsequently, in 2020, a first campaign was carried out in Lannemezan in order to qualify the BOREAL capacities to measure wind and turbulence and this following comparisons with the instrumented tower. The UAV's performances are presented in details.

Qualification of Two Unmanned Aerial Systems for Wind and Turbulence Observations in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Qualification of Two Unmanned Aerial Systems for Wind and Turbulence Observations in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer PDF Author: Sara Alaoui-Sosse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for atmospheric research during the last years undergoes a remarkable growth all over the world due to their several advantages. They are a new tool for profiling the main parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) such as temperature, humidity and wind vector, as well as for turbulence observations. Their development was inspired by instrumented airplanes. In addition, they are complementary to other existing platforms such as instrumented towers and airplanes, and radiosondes, since they can fly in areas unreachable by these other platforms. We have developed two instrumentation packages for wind and turbulence observations in the atmospheric boundary layer for two UAVs of distinct sizes. The first one is a small size UAV (3.5 kg payload included and with a wingspan of 2.6 m) called OVLI-TA (Objet Volant Leger Instrumenté-Turbulence Atmosphérique). The second one is the fixed wing UAV called BOREAL which has a larger size (25 kg including a payload of 5 kg and with a wingspan of 4.2 m).The meteorological instrumental package of OVLI-TA is composed of a five-hole probe that replaces the nose of the drone, a Pitot probe to measure static and dynamic pressure, a fast inertial measurement unit, a GPS receiver, as well as temperature and moisture sensors. Moreover, for autonomous flights the Pixhawk autopilot is used. The wind tunnel calibrations of the five-hole probe were conducted in order to determine the calibration coefficients of the angles of attack and sideslip. I present the analysis of a qualification flight test conducted in March 2016 in Lannemezan, in the atmospheric research center (CRA) equipped with an instrumented 60 m tower, as well as of the flights conducted in June and July 2016 during the international project DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Clouds Interactions in West Africa), in Benin. This study allows evaluating the capacity and performances of OVLI-TA to measure mean values of wind, temperature and humidity, along with turbulence. In this assessment, observations from the 60 m tower and radiosondes were used as a reference.BOREAL's advantages over OVLI-TA lie in its larger payload capacity, its flight endurance that could reach 9 hours, and also its ability to fly in more adverse weather conditions. The developed instrumentation includes a GPS-IMU platform, a five-hole probe replacing the nose of the UAV which measures the angles of attack and sideslip, a Pitot tube, in addition to temperature and humidity sensors. In order to calibrate the five-hole probe, I analyzed the data of wind tunnel test and I used FLUENT software for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Furthermore, the first qualification flight test conducted in 2018 allowed us to determine the optimal airspeed of the UAV at which the vibrations are significantly reduced to an acceptable level. Subsequently, in 2020, a first campaign was carried out in Lannemezan in order to qualify the BOREAL capacities to measure wind and turbulence and this following comparisons with the instrumented tower. The UAV's performances are presented in details.

Spatially Distributed Wind and Turbulence Measurements with a Fleet of Unmanned Aerial Systems

Spatially Distributed Wind and Turbulence Measurements with a Fleet of Unmanned Aerial Systems PDF Author: Tamino Wetz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This thesis deals with the development of a unique measuring device for wind field measurement in the atmospheric boundary layer and its application to examine spatial turbulence structures in heterogeneous terrain as well as flow measurements around a wind turbine. The innovative measuring system consists of a fleet of 35 quadrotors UAS (unmanned aerial systems), of which a maximum of 20 were used simultaneously. This measuring system enables flexible, simultaneous, spatially distributed measurements of the wind vector in the boundary layer. An algorithm was developed to measure the wind that is based on the position and acceleration sensors of the UAS and does not require additional external wind sensors. The algorithm puts the sensor data in relation to the acting wind forces and is calibrated and validated with the help of reference measurements on a 99-m meteorological mast. The potential of the UAS fleet for wind field and turbulence measurements is shown by comparisons with Doppler wind lidar and ultrasonic anemometer measurement data. Furthermore, a special flight pattern with spatially horizontally distributed measurements was developed to allow for the examination of horizontal turbulence structures. On the one hand, the limit of validity of the Taylor hypothesis of frozen turbulence is tested. On the other hand, it is demonstrated how turbulence structures differ in their horizontal spatial characteristics depending on the atmospheric conditions. Additionally, the correlation of different scales in the frequency domain is examined using coherence. In comparison to models of the decay of coherence, the validity of the models is limited to neutral stratification. Overall, the coherence is smaller for the lateral separation distance than for the longitudinal one. In a final measurement campaign, the knowledge gained and an improved wind algorithm were used to analyze the flow around a wind turbine (WT). At the same time, measurements were carried out in the wake and in the inflow of the WT. Spatially distributed measurements in the near wake of a 2 MW WT clearly show the expected wind speed deficit. Laterally distributed measurements in the wake under stable and near-neutral stratification indicate a double-Gaussian distribution of the lateral velocity profile. Under convective conditions, the turbulent mixing is enhanced, which leads to a measurement of a simple Gaussian distribution already in the near wake. Furthermore, horizontal turbulent flow measurements show the expected energy input from outside the wake into the edge areas of the wake. In addition, it could be shown that a turbulent flow from the center of the wake to the edge areas can also be measured in stable and near-neutral stratification. Also, the occurrence of vortices resulting from the pressure differences at the rotor blade tips was investigated.

Safety and Reliability in Cooperating Unmanned Aerial Systems

Safety and Reliability in Cooperating Unmanned Aerial Systems PDF Author: Camille Alain Rabbath
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9812836993
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Overview of recent advances in the analysis and design of health management systems for cooperating unmanned aerial vehicles. Cooperative health management (CHM) systems seek to provide adaptation to the presence of faults by capitalizing on the availability of interconnected computing, sensing and actuation resources. Complements the proposed CHM concepts by means of case studies and application examples. and presents fundamental principles and results encompassing optimization, systems theory, information theory, dynamics, modeling and simulation.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Applications over Cellular Networks for 5G and Beyond

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Applications over Cellular Networks for 5G and Beyond PDF Author: Hongliang Zhang
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030330397
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
This book discusses how to plan the time-variant placements of the UAVs served as base station (BS)/relay, which is very challenging due to the complicated 3D propagation environments, as well as many other practical constraints such as power and flying speed. Spectrum sharing with existing cellular networks is also investigated in this book. The emerging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been playing an increasing role in the military, public, and civil applications. To seamlessly integrate UAVs into future cellular networks, this book will cover two main scenarios of UAV applications as follows. The first type of applications can be referred to as UAV Assisted Cellular Communications. Second type of application is to exploit UAVs for sensing purposes, such as smart agriculture, security monitoring, and traffic surveillance. Due to the limited computation capability of UAVs, the real-time sensory data needs to be transmitted to the BS for real-time data processing. The cellular networks are necessarily committed to support the data transmission for UAVs, which the authors refer to as Cellular assisted UAV Sensing. To support real-time sensing streaming, the authors design joint sensing and communication protocols, develop novel beamforming and estimation algorithms, and study efficient distributed resource optimization methods. This book targets signal processing engineers, computer and information scientists, applied mathematicians and statisticians, as well as systems engineers to carve out the role that analytical and experimental engineering has to play in UAV research and development. Undergraduate students, industry managers, government research agency workers and general readers interested in the fields of communications and networks will also want to read this book.

Atmospheric Considerations for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Test Planning

Atmospheric Considerations for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Test Planning PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description


Atmospheric Considerations for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Test Planning

Atmospheric Considerations for Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Test Planning PDF Author: Edward H. Teets
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Airplanes
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description
Atmospheric considerations are a key element in support of uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) flight testing. The local atmospheric environment (wind speed and direction, wind shear, temperature, precipitation, and turbulence) must be characterized and understood. The primary objective is to ensure safety of the vehicle, test range, and ground assets. The generalized atmospheric behavior for any potential flight operations site is best described by combining the local seasonal climatology, daily upper atmospheric wind and temperature profiles, and hourly surface and low-level wind observations. This paper describes a continuous forecast update process based on monitoring atmospheric turbulence with surface and low-level wind for the support of UAV flights. Updates ensure the most current available data needed for mission planning. Each mission plan is developed so as not to exceed operation limits because of weather conditions. This paper also discusses climatology, weather forecasts, and day-of-flight weather monitoring for planning of uninhabited aerial vehicle missions.

Indoor Navigation Strategies for Aerial Autonomous Systems

Indoor Navigation Strategies for Aerial Autonomous Systems PDF Author: Pedro Castillo-Garcia
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
ISBN: 0128053399
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Indoor Navigation Strategies for Aerial Autonomous Systems presents the necessary and sufficient theoretical basis for those interested in working in unmanned aerial vehicles, providing three different approaches to mathematically represent the dynamics of an aerial vehicle. The book contains detailed information on fusion inertial measurements for orientation stabilization and its validation in flight tests, also proposing substantial theoretical and practical validation for improving the dropped or noised signals. In addition, the book contains different strategies to control and navigate aerial systems. The comprehensive information will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners working in automatic control, mechatronics, robotics, and UAVs, helping them improve research and motivating them to build a test-bed for future projects. Provides substantial information on nonlinear control approaches and their validation in flight tests Details in observer-delay schemes that can be applied in real-time Teaches how an IMU is built and how they can improve the performance of their system when applying observers or predictors Improves prototypes with tactics for proposed nonlinear schemes

Power-over-tether Unmanned Aerial System Leveraged for Trajectory Influenced Atmospheric Sensing

Power-over-tether Unmanned Aerial System Leveraged for Trajectory Influenced Atmospheric Sensing PDF Author: Daniel A. Rico
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in agriculture has risen in the past decade and is helping to modernize agriculture. UASs collect and elucidate data previously difficult to obtain and are used to help increase agricultural efficiency and production. Typical commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) UASs are limited by small payloads and short flight times. Such limits inhibit their ability to provide abundant data at multiple spatiotemporal scales. In this thesis, we describe the design and construction of the tethered aircraft unmanned system (TAUS), which is a novel power-over-tether UAS configured for long-term, high throughput atmospheric monitoring with an array of sensors embedded along the tether. This was accomplished by leveraging the physical presence of the tether to integrate an array of sensors. With power from the ground station, the TAUS can acquire continuous volumetric data for numerous hours. The system is used to sense atmospheric conditions and temperature gradients across altitudes. We present the development of the prototype system, along with a discussion of the results from field experiments. We discuss the influence that power losses across the tether have on the sensors’ abilities to accurately sense atmospheric temperature. We demonstrate a 6-hour continuous flight at an altitude of 50 feet, and a 1-hour flight at sunset to acquire the gradually decreasing atmospheric temperature from an array of 6 sensors. We then modeled the TAUS and sensor array to computer simulate four trajectories (mower, spiral, star, and flower) for the TAUS and evaluated the system and sensing performance via well-defined factors. We conducted outdoor experiments to characterize system performance while in operation and to inform the development of models and trajectory simulations. From the analysis of the experimental data, we found minimal sensing error with respect to ground truth installations at comparable altitudes. Leveraging the simulated trajectory outcomes we reconstructed the changing input temperature fields. The analysis of the simulated data indicated that the power-tethered Star trajectory performed well with respect to key performance factors when measuring changing atmospheric fields. The TAUS will be improved by incorporating multivariable sensors and an optimal control algorithm for elevated levels of operational autonomy.

Development of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Atmospheric Turbulence Measurement

Development of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Atmospheric Turbulence Measurement PDF Author: Brandon Michael Witte
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 99

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Book Description


Avionics and Control System Development for Mid-air Rendezvous of Two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Avionics and Control System Development for Mid-air Rendezvous of Two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles PDF Author: Sanghyuk Park
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
A flight control system was developed to achieve mid-air rendezvous of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a part of the Parent Child Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (PCUAV) project at MIT and the Draper Laboratory. A lateral guidance logic was developed for tightly tracking a desired flight path. The guidance logic is derived from geometric and kinematic properties, and has been demonstrated to work better than the conventional aircraft guidance method in waypoint navigation. A simple, low-order attitude estimation was developed that combines aircraft kinematics, GPS and low-quality rate gyros. It is demonstrated in simulation that the performance of the proposed method is as good as other advanced complex methods when the aircraft bank angle is relative small(