MASC – a small Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for wind energy research

Wildmann, Norman; Hofsäß, Martin; Weimer, Florian; Joos, Alexander; Bange, Jens

doi:10.5194/asr-11-55-2014

Cited by 87 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…ALADINA can be flown automatically by the autopilot ROCS (Research Onboard Computing System) that is provided by the Institute of Flight Mechanics and Control of the University of Stuttgart. More information can be found in Haala et al (2011) and Wildmann et al (2014a). This autopilot allows precise measurement flights in the lower ABL over larger distances.…”

Section: Unmanned Research Aircraft Carolo P360mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For additional information about turbulence within the atmospheric boundary layer and to obtain a three-dimensional picture of atmospheric processes, a second unmanned research aircraft MASC (Wildmann et al, 2014a) was operated during the first test campaign simultaneously with ALADINA. MASC was developed at the EKUT and carries the same meteorological sensors as ALADINA.…”

Section: Unmanned Research Aircraft Mascmentioning

confidence: 99%

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ALADINA – an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

Altstädter

Platis²,

Wehner

et al. 2015

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

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Abstract. This paper presents the unmanned research aircraft Carolo P360 "ALADINA" (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting IN situ Aerosol) for investigating the horizontal and vertical distribution of ultrafine particles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). It has a wingspan of 3.6 m, a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and is equipped with aerosol instrumentation and meteorological sensors. A first application of the system, together with the unmanned research aircraft MASC (Multi-Purpose Airborne Carrier) of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (EKUT), is described. As small payload for ALADINA, two condensation particle counters (CPC) and one optical particle counter (OPC) were miniaturised by re-arranging the vital parts and composing them in a space-saving way in the front compartment of the airframe. The CPCs are improved concerning the lower detection threshold and the response time to less than 1.3 s. Each system was characterised in the laboratory and calibrated with test aerosols. The CPCs are operated in this study with two different lower detection threshold diameters of 11 and 18 nm. The amount of ultrafine particles, which is an indicator for new particle formation, is derived from the difference in number concentrations of the two CPCs ( N). Turbulence and thermodynamic structure of the boundary layer are described by measurements of fast meteorological sensors that are mounted at the aircraft nose. A first demonstration of ALADINA and a feasibility study were conducted in Melpitz near Leipzig, Germany, at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) on 2 days in October 2013. There, various ground-based instruments are installed for long-term atmospheric monitoring. The groundbased infrastructure provides valuable additional background information to embed the flights in the continuous atmospheric context and is used for validation of the airborne results. The development of the boundary layer, derived from backscatter signals of a portable Raman lidar POLLY XT , allows a quick overview of the current vertical structure of atmospheric particles. Ground-based aerosol number concentrations are consistent with the results from flights in heights of a few metres. In addition, a direct comparison of ALAD-INA aerosol data and ground-based aerosol data, sampling the air at the same location for more than 1 h, shows comparable values within the range of ± 20 %. MASC was operated simultaneously with complementary flight patterns. It is equipped with the same meteorological instruments that offer the possibility to determine turbulent fluxes. Therefore, additional information about meteorological conditions was collected in the lowest part of the atmosphere. Vertical profiles up to 1000 m in altitude indicate a high variability with distinct layers of aerosol, especially for the small particles of a few nanometres in diameter on 1 particular day. The stratification was almost neutral and two significant aerosol layers were detect...

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Section: Unmanned Research Aircraft Carolo P360mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Unmanned Research Aircraft Mascmentioning

confidence: 99%

ALADINA – an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

Altstädter

Platis²,

Wehner

et al. 2015

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

Self Cite

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“…In addition to the directly-measured meteorological parameters, like temperature, relative humidity, and pressure, the horizontal wind speed and direction can be estimated by applying the "no-flow-sensor" wind estimation algorithm described in reference [68]. The Multi-purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier (MASC-2) is an electrically-powered, single engine, pusher aircraft of 3.5 m wing span and a total weight of 6 kg, including a scientific payload of 1.0 kg [85]. This UAV is equipped with the ROCS (Research Onboard Computer System) autopilot system developed at the University of Stuttgart.…”

Section: Basic Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each component of the measurement system aboard MASC-2 was tested in the lab and during flight. The sensors were calibrated and airborne gathered data were validated by comparison to both other measurement systems and theoretical expectations [85][86][87]. A new UAV based on the the miniTalon produced by X-UAV with an EPP airframe of 120 cm wingspan and 83 cm length that was designed to carry a higher payload (up to 1000 g) was tested during the campaign.…”

Section: Basic Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovative Strategies for Observations in the Arctic Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ISOBAR)—The Hailuoto 2017 Campaign

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The aim of the research project "Innovative Strategies for Observations in the Arctic Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ISOBAR)" is to substantially increase the understanding of the stable atmospheric boundary layer (SBL) through a combination of well-established and innovative observation methods as well as by models of different complexity. During three weeks in February 2017, a first field campaign was carried out over the sea ice of the Bothnian Bay in the vicinity of the Finnish island of Hailuoto. Observations were based on ground-based eddy-covariance (EC), automatic weather stations (AWS) and remote-sensing instrumentation as well as more than 150 flight missions by several different Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) during mostly stable and very stable boundary layer conditions. The structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and above could be resolved at a very high vertical resolution, especially close to the ground, by combining surface-based measurements with UAV observations, i.e., multicopter and fixed-wing profiles up to 200 m agl and 1800 m agl, respectively. Repeated multicopter profiles provided detailed information on the evolution of the SBL, in addition to the continuous SODAR and LIDAR windAtmosphere 2018, 9, 268; doi:10.3390/atmos9070268www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphereAtmosphere 2018, 9, 268 2 of 29 measurements. The paper describes the campaign and the potential of the collected data set for future SBL research and focuses on both the UAV operations and the benefits of complementing established measurement methods by UAV measurements to enable SBL observations at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.

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“…It requires instruments that can sample wind speeds in a volume of the atmosphere in a short time and in a flexible way. While different measurement systems have been used, such as radars (Hirth et al, 2012), sodars (Barthelmie et al, 2003) or small remotely piloted aircraft (RPA, Wildmann et al, 2014), it is lidar technology of different categories (pulsed and continuous-wave) that 5 has proven to be the most versatile tool to perform wake measurements because of the high availability and reliability, good resolution and flexible possibilities to probe the atmosphere especially with scanning systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind Turbine Wake Measurements with Automatically Adjusting Scanning Trajectories in a Multi-Doppler Lidar Setup

Wildmann¹,

Vasiljević²,

Gerz³

2018

Preprint

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Abstract. In the context of the Perdigão 2017 experiment, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) deployed three long-range scanning Doppler lidars with the dedicated purpose of investigating the wake of a single wind turbine at the experimental site. A novel method was established to investigate wake properties with ground-based lidars over a wide range of wind directions. For this method, the three lidars, which were space-and time-synchronized using the WindScanner software, were programmed to measure with crossing beams at individual points up to ten rotor diameters downstream the wind turbine. Every half hour, the 5 measurement points were adapted to the current wind direction to obtain a high availability of wake measurements in changing wind conditions. The linearly independent radial velocities where the lidar beams intersect allow the calculation of the wind vector at those points. Two approaches to estimate the prevailing wind direction were tested throughout the campaign. In the first approach, VAD scans of one of the lidars were used to calculate a five-minute average of wind speed and wind direction every half hour, whereas later in the experiment, five-minute averages of sonic anemometer measurements of a meteorological 10 mast close to the wind turbine became available in real-time and were used for the scanning adjustment. Results of wind speed deficit measurements are presented for two measurement days with varying westerly winds and it is evaluated how well the lidar beam intersection points match the actual wake location. The new method allowed to obtain wake measurements over the whole measurement period, whereas a static scanning setup would only have captured short periods of wake occurrences. The analysed cases reveal that state-of-the-art engineering models for wakes underestimate the actual wind speed deficit.

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MASC – a small Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for wind energy research

Cited by 87 publications

References 18 publications

ALADINA – an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

ALADINA – an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

Innovative Strategies for Observations in the Arctic Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ISOBAR)—The Hailuoto 2017 Campaign

Wind Turbine Wake Measurements with Automatically Adjusting Scanning Trajectories in a Multi-Doppler Lidar Setup

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