Measuring Low-Altitude Winds with a Hot-Air Balloon and Their Validation with Cabauw Tower Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-277
Author(s):  
Evert I. F. de Bruijn ◽  
Fred C. Bosveld ◽  
Siebren de Haan ◽  
Bert G. Heusinkveld
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Sonic Anemometer ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Position Error ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
Meteorological Observatory ◽  
Error Standard Deviation

AbstractA field experiment with a hot-air balloon was conducted in the vicinity of the meteorological observatory of Cabauw in The Netherlands. Recreational hot-air balloon flights contain useful wind information in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). On a yearly basis between 8000 and 9000 flights are taking place in The Netherlands, mainly during the morning and evening transition. An application (app) for smartphones has been developed to collect location data. We report about a feasibility study of a hot-air balloon experiment where we investigated the accuracy of the smartphone’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver using an accurate geodetic GNSS receiver as a reference. Further, we study the dynamic response of the hot-air balloon on variations in the wind by measuring the relative wind with a sonic anemometer, which is mounted below the gondola. The GNSS comparison reveals that smartphones equipped with a GNSS chip have in the horizontal plane an absolute position error standard deviation of 5 m, but their relative position error standard deviation is smaller. Therefore, the horizontal speeds, which are based on relative positions and a time step of 1 s, have standard deviations of σu = 0.8 m s−1 and συ = 0.6 m s−1. The standard deviation in altitude is 12 m. We have validated the hot-air balloon derived wind data with observations from the Cabauw tower and the results are encouraging. We have studied the dynamics of a hot-air balloon. An empirical value of the response length has been found which accounts for the balloon’s inertia after a changing wind, and which compared favorable with the theoretical derived value. We have found a small but systematic movement of the hot-air balloon relative to the surrounding air. The model for the balloon dynamics has been refined to account for this so-called inertial drift.

scholarly journals Meteorological observations of the coastal boundary layer structure at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Barantiev ◽  
M. Novitsky ◽  
E. Batchvarova
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
Sonic Anemometer ◽  
Sea Breeze ◽  
Turbulence Measurements ◽  
Black Sea Coast ◽  
Meteorological Observatory ◽  
Sea Coast

Abstract. Continuous wind profile and turbulence measurements were initiated in July 2008 at the coastal meteorological observatory of Ahtopol on the Black Sea (south-east Bulgaria) under a Bulgarian-Russian collaborative program. These observations are the start of high resolution atmospheric boundary layer vertical structure climatology at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast using remote sensing technology and turbulence measurements. The potential of the measurement program with respect to this goal is illustrated with examples of sea breeze formation and characteristics during the summer of 2008. The analysis revealed three distinct types of weather conditions: no breeze, breeze with sharp frontal passage and gradually developing breeze. During the sea breeze days, the average wind speed near the ground (from sonic anemometer at 4.5 m and first layer of sodar at 30–40 m) did not exceed 3–4 m s−1. The onset of breeze circulation was detected based on surface layer measurements of air temperature (platinum sensor and acoustic), wind speed and direction, and turbulence parameters. The sodar measurements revealed the vertical structure of the wind field.

Study the Effect of Radio Interference of the EHV Transmission Line on GNSS Signals

2013 ◽  
Vol 805-806 ◽  
pp. 851-854
Author(s):  
Zhi Ge Jia ◽  
Zhao Sheng Nie ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Xiao Guan ◽  
Di Jin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Line ◽  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Internal Noise ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Field Analysis ◽  
Radio Interference ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Gnss Data

This work describes the field testing process of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver under 220KV, 500KV UHV transmission line and standard calibration field. Analysis for GNSS data results shows that the radio interference generated by EHV transmission lines have no effect on GNSS receiver internal noise levels and valid GNSS observation rate. Within 50 meters of the EHV transmission lines, the multi-path effects (mp1 and mp2 value) significantly exceeded the normal range and becomes larger with the increase of the voltage .outside 50 meters of the EHV transmission line, the multi-path effects have almost no effect on the high-precision GNSS observations.

Unsteady Conjugate Heat Transfer Investigation of a Multistage Steam Turbine in Warm-Keeping Operation With Hot Air

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Łuczyński ◽  
Dennis Toebben ◽  
Manfred Wirsum ◽  
Wolfgang F. D. Mohr ◽  
Klaus Helbig
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Conjugate Heat Transfer ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Angle Of Incidence ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vortex Systems ◽  
Operating Points

In recent decades, the rising share of commonly subsidized renewable energy especially affects the operational strategy of conventional power plants. In pursuit of flexibility improvements, extension of life cycle, in addition to a reduction in start-up time, General Electric has developed a product to warm-keep high/intermediate pressure steam turbines using hot air. In order to optimize the warm-keeping operation and to gain knowledge about the dominant heat transfer phenomena and flow structures, detailed numerical investigations are required. Considering specific warm-keeping operating conditions characterized by high turbulent flows, it is required to conduct calculations based on time-consuming unsteady conjugate heat transfer (CHT) simulations. In order to investigate the warm-keeping process as found in the presented research, single and multistage numerical turbine models were developed. Furthermore, an innovative calculation approach called the Equalized Timescales Method (ET) was applied for the modeling of unsteady conjugate heat transfer (CHT). The unsteady approach improves the accuracy of the stationary simulations and enables the determination of the multistage turbine models. In the course of the research, two particular input variables of the ET approach — speed up factor (SF) and time step (TS) — have been additionally investigated with regard to their high impact on the calculation time and the quality of the results. Using the ET method, the mass flow rate and the rotational speed were varied to generate a database of warm-keeping operating points. The main goal of this work is to provide a comprehensive knowledge of the flow field and heat transfer in a wide range of turbine warm-keeping operations and to characterize the flow patterns observed at these operating points. For varying values of flow coefficient and angle of incidence, the secondary flow phenomena change from well-known vortex systems occurring in design operation (such as passage, horseshoe and corner vortices) to effects typical for windage, like patterns of alternating vortices and strong backflows. Furthermore, the identified flow patterns have been compared to vortex systems described in cited literature and summarized in the so-called blade vortex diagram. The comparison of heat transfer in the form of charts showing the variation of the Nusselt-numbers with respect to changes in angle of incidence and flow coefficients at specific operating points is additionally provided.

scholarly journals PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF INTEGRATED SENSOR ORIENTATION WITH A LOW-COST GNSS RECEIVER

2017 ◽  
Vol IV-2/W3 ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rehak ◽  
J. Skaloud
Keyword(s):  
Position Control ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Bundle Adjustment ◽  
Single Frequency ◽  
Reference Trajectory ◽  
Integrated Sensor ◽  
Homogeneous Surface ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Sensor Orientation

Mapping with Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs whose weight does not exceed 5&amp;thinsp;kg) is gaining importance in applications such as corridor mapping, road and pipeline inspections, or mapping of large areas with homogeneous surface structure, e.g. forest or agricultural fields. In these challenging scenarios, integrated sensor orientation (ISO) improves effectiveness and accuracy. Furthermore, in block geometry configurations, this mode of operation allows mapping without ground control points (GCPs). Accurate camera positions are traditionally determined by carrier-phase GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning. However, such mode of positioning has strong requirements on receiver’s and antenna’s performance. In this article, we present a mapping project in which we employ a single-frequency, low-cost (<&amp;thinsp;$100) GNSS receiver on a MAV. The performance of the low-cost receiver is assessed by comparing its trajectory with a reference trajectory obtained by a survey-grade, multi-frequency GNSS receiver. In addition, the camera positions derived from these two trajectories are used as observations in bundle adjustment (BA) projects and mapping accuracy is evaluated at check points (ChP). Several BA scenarios are considered with absolute and relative aerial position control. Additionally, the presented experiments show the possibility of BA to determine a camera-antenna spatial offset, so-called lever-arm.

scholarly journals Results of the GNSS receiver experiment OCAM-G on Ariane-5 flight VA 219

2016 ◽  
Vol 231 (6) ◽  
pp. 1100-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Hauschild ◽  
Markus Markgraf ◽  
Oliver Montenbruck ◽  
Horst Pfeuffer ◽  
Elie Dawidowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
French Guiana ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Navigation Solution ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Upper Stage ◽  
Lift Off ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Navigation Accuracy ◽  
First Time

The fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle was launched on 29 July 2014 with Ariane-5 flight VA 219 into orbit from Kourou, French Guiana. For the first time, the ascent of an Ariane rocket was independently tracked with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver on this flight. The GNSS receiver experiment OCAM-G was mounted on the upper stage of the rocket. Its receivers tracked the trajectory of the Ariane-5 from lift-off until after the separation of the Automated Transfer Vehicle. This article introduces the design of the experiment and presents an analysis of the data gathered during the flight with respect to the GNSS tracking status, availability of navigation solution, and navigation accuracy.

scholarly journals Significant Wave Height Estimation from Space-Borne Cyclone-GNSS Reflectometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Peng ◽  
Shuanggen Jin
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Wave Height ◽  
Significant Wave Height ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Measurement Range ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Significant Wave

The significant wave height (SWH) of the sea is an important parameter and plays an important role in the prediction of waves and ocean dynamics. However, traditional methods, e.g., buoys or traditional remote sensing techniques such as X-band radar image have small measurement range and high cost. Recently, Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) has provided a new opportunity to estimate the SWH, especially the space-borne Cyclone-GNSS (CYGNSS) launched on December 15, 2016. The GNSS-R uses the GNSS-reflected signal received by the receiver to invert ground physical parameters with all-weather, global fast coverage, high resolution, high precision, high long-term stability, rich signal sources, passive detection, and strong concealment. In this paper, the global ocean significant wave height is estimated using space-borne CYGNSS GNSS-R data for the first time though the relationship between the square root of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data of CYGNSS delayed Doppler map (DDM) and the SWH. Then, the estimated significant wave height is compared with the satellite altimeter and buoy data. Compared with the AVISO SWH observation, the standard deviation value reaches 0.3080 m and the correlation coefficient reaches 0.9473 m. The correlation coefficient with the buoy SWH observation is 0.9539 m and the standard deviation is 0.2761 m. The SWH estimations from CYGNSS can provide important support in ocean shipping development, marine environmental protection, marine disaster warning and forecasting.

Low-Cost Receiver and Network Real-Time Kinematic Positioning for use in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (04) ◽  
pp. 917-930
Author(s):  
Fang-Shii Ning ◽  
Xiaolin Meng ◽  
Yi-Ting Wang
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Intelligent Transport System ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Gnss Receiver

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) have been researched extensively for solving traffic issues and for realising the concept of an intelligent transport system. A well-developed positioning system is critical for CAVs to achieve these aims. The system should provide high accuracy, mobility, continuity, flexibility and scalability. However, high-performance equipment is too expensive for the commercial use of CAVs; therefore, the use of a low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver to achieve real-time, high-accuracy and ubiquitous positioning performance will be a future trend. This research used RTKLIB software to develop a low-cost GNSS receiver positioning system and assessed the developed positioning system according to the requirements of CAV applications. Kinematic tests were conducted to evaluate the positioning performance of the low-cost receiver in a CAV driving environment based on the accuracy requirements of CAVs. The results showed that the low-cost receiver satisfied the “Where in Lane” accuracy level (0·5 m) and achieved a similar positioning performance in rural, interurban, urban and motorway areas.

scholarly journals RTK GNSS-Assisted Terrestrial SfM Photogrammetry without GCP: Application to Coastal Morphodynamics Monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Jaud ◽  
Stéphane Bertin ◽  
Mickaël Beauverger ◽  
Emmanuel Augereau ◽  
Christophe Delacourt
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Mean Error ◽  
Ground Control Points ◽  
Participatory Science ◽  
Gnss Network ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite

The present article describes a new and efficient method of Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) assisted terrestrial Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry without the need for Ground Control Points (GCPs). The system only requires a simple frame that mechanically connects a RTK GNSS antenna to the camera. The system is low cost, easy to transport, and offers high autonomy. Furthermore, not requiring GCPs enables saving time during the in situ acquisition and during data processing. The method is tested for coastal cliff monitoring, using both a Reflex camera and a Smartphone camera. The quality of the reconstructions is assessed by comparison to a synchronous Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) acquisition. The results are highly satisfying with a mean error of 0.3 cm and a standard deviation of 4.7 cm obtained with the Nikon D800 Reflex camera and, respectively, a mean error of 0.2 cm and a standard deviation of 3.8 cm obtained with the Huawei Y5 Smartphone camera. This method will be particularly interesting when simplicity, portability, and autonomy are desirable. In the future, it would be transposable to participatory science programs, while using an open RTK GNSS network.

scholarly journals Research on Absolute Calibration of GNSS Receiver Delay through Clock-Steering Characterization

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 6063
Author(s):  
Feng Zhu ◽  
Huijun Zhang ◽  
Luxi Huang ◽  
Xiaohui Li ◽  
Ping Feng
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Periodic Variation ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Absolute Calibration ◽  
Universal Method ◽  
Gnss Receiver ◽  
Combined Uncertainty ◽  
Zero Baseline ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Operation Status

The receiver delay has a significant impact on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) time measurement. This article comprehensively analyzes the difficulty, composition, principle, and calculation of GNSS receiver delay. A universal method, based on clock-steering characterization, is proposed to absolutely calibrate all types of receivers. We use a hardware simulator to design several experiments to test the performance of GNSS receiver delay for different receiver types, radio frequency (RF) signals, operation status and time-to-phase (TtP). At first, through the receivers of Novatel and Septentrio, the channel delay of Septentrio is 2 ns far lower than 65 ns for Novatel, and for the inter-frequency bias of GLONASS L1, Septentrio tends to increase within 10 ns compared with decreasing of Novatel within 5 ns. Secondly, a representative receiver of UniNav-BDS (BeiDou) is chosen to test the influence of Ttp which may be ignored by users. Under continuous operation, the receiver delay shows a monotone reduction of 10 ns as TtP increased by 10 ns. However, under on-off operation, the receiver delay represents periodic variation. Through a zero-baseline comparison, we verifies the relation between receiver delay and TtP. At last, the article analyzes instrument errors and measurement errors in the experiment, and the combined uncertainty of absolute calibration is calculated with 1.36 ns.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document