Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV

The capabilities of a quadcopter in the hover mode for low-altitude sensing of atmospheric turbulence with high spatial resolution in urban areas characterized by complex orography are investigated. The studies were carried out in different seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall), and the quadcop...

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Main Authors: Alexander Shelekhov, Alexey Afanasiev, Evgeniya Shelekhova, Alexey Kobzev, Alexey Tel’minov, Alexander Molchunov, Olga Poplevina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Drones
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/3/61
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author Alexander Shelekhov
Alexey Afanasiev
Evgeniya Shelekhova
Alexey Kobzev
Alexey Tel’minov
Alexander Molchunov
Olga Poplevina
author_facet Alexander Shelekhov
Alexey Afanasiev
Evgeniya Shelekhova
Alexey Kobzev
Alexey Tel’minov
Alexander Molchunov
Olga Poplevina
author_sort Alexander Shelekhov
collection DOAJ
description The capabilities of a quadcopter in the hover mode for low-altitude sensing of atmospheric turbulence with high spatial resolution in urban areas characterized by complex orography are investigated. The studies were carried out in different seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall), and the quadcopter hovered in the immediate vicinity of ultrasonic weather stations. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro quadcopter and AMK-03 ultrasonic weather stations installed in different places of the studied territory were used in the experiment. The smoothing procedure was used to study the behavior of the longitudinal and lateral spectra of turbulence in the inertial and energy production ranges. The longitudinal and lateral turbulence scales were estimated by the least-square fit method with the von Karman model as a regression curve. It is shown that the turbulence spectra obtained with DJI Phantom 4 Pro and AMK-03 generally coincide, with minor differences observed in the high-frequency region of the spectrum. In the inertial range, the behavior of the turbulence spectra shows that they obey the Kolmogorov–Obukhov “5/3” law. In the energy production range, the longitudinal and lateral turbulence scales and their ratio measured by DJI Phantom 4 Pro and AMK-03 agree to a good accuracy. Discrepancies in the data obtained with the quadcopter and the ultrasonic weather stations at the territory with complex orography are explained by the partial correlation of the wind velocity series at different measurement points and the influence of the inhomogeneous surface.
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spelling doaj.art-407dcda679fc46b2b5a636dbb76de0752023-11-24T00:58:06ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2022-02-01636110.3390/drones6030061Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAVAlexander Shelekhov0Alexey Afanasiev1Evgeniya Shelekhova2Alexey Kobzev3Alexey Tel’minov4Alexander Molchunov5Olga Poplevina6Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaV.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, 1, Academician Zuev square Tomsk, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaInstitute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaInstitute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaInstitute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaInstitute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaInstitute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 10/3, Academichesky Ave, 634055 Tomsk, RussiaThe capabilities of a quadcopter in the hover mode for low-altitude sensing of atmospheric turbulence with high spatial resolution in urban areas characterized by complex orography are investigated. The studies were carried out in different seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall), and the quadcopter hovered in the immediate vicinity of ultrasonic weather stations. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro quadcopter and AMK-03 ultrasonic weather stations installed in different places of the studied territory were used in the experiment. The smoothing procedure was used to study the behavior of the longitudinal and lateral spectra of turbulence in the inertial and energy production ranges. The longitudinal and lateral turbulence scales were estimated by the least-square fit method with the von Karman model as a regression curve. It is shown that the turbulence spectra obtained with DJI Phantom 4 Pro and AMK-03 generally coincide, with minor differences observed in the high-frequency region of the spectrum. In the inertial range, the behavior of the turbulence spectra shows that they obey the Kolmogorov–Obukhov “5/3” law. In the energy production range, the longitudinal and lateral turbulence scales and their ratio measured by DJI Phantom 4 Pro and AMK-03 agree to a good accuracy. Discrepancies in the data obtained with the quadcopter and the ultrasonic weather stations at the territory with complex orography are explained by the partial correlation of the wind velocity series at different measurement points and the influence of the inhomogeneous surface.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/3/61quadcopterultrasonic weather stationturbulencelongitudinal and lateral spectrascalesurban environment
spellingShingle Alexander Shelekhov
Alexey Afanasiev
Evgeniya Shelekhova
Alexey Kobzev
Alexey Tel’minov
Alexander Molchunov
Olga Poplevina
Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
Drones
quadcopter
ultrasonic weather station
turbulence
longitudinal and lateral spectra
scales
urban environment
title Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
title_full Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
title_fullStr Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
title_full_unstemmed Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
title_short Low-Altitude Sensing of Urban Atmospheric Turbulence with UAV
title_sort low altitude sensing of urban atmospheric turbulence with uav
topic quadcopter
ultrasonic weather station
turbulence
longitudinal and lateral spectra
scales
urban environment
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/3/61
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