MASC – a small Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for wind energy research
Originally designed for atmospheric boundary layer research, the MASC (Multipurpose Airborne Sensor Carrier) RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV) is capable of making in-situ measurements of temperature, humidity and wind in high resolution and precision. The a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2014-05-01
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| Series: | Advances in Science and Research |
| Online Access: | http://www.adv-sci-res.net/11/55/2014/asr-11-55-2014.pdf |
| Summary: | Originally designed for atmospheric boundary layer research, the
MASC (Multipurpose Airborne Sensor Carrier) RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft,
also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV) is capable of making in-situ
measurements of temperature, humidity and wind in high resolution and
precision. The autopilot system ROCS (Research Onboard Computer System)
enables the aircraft to fly pre-defined routes between waypoints at constant
altitude and airspeed. The system manages to operate in wind speeds up to
15 m s<sup>−1</sup> safely. It is shown that a MASC can fly as close as one
rotor diameter upstream and downstream of running wind turbines at these wind
speeds and take valuable data of incoming flow and wake. The flexible
operation of an RPA at the size of a MASC can be a major advantage of the
system compared to tower measurements and remote sensing in wind energy
research. In the project "Lidar Complex" comparisons of RPA measurements with
lidar systems and tower measurements are carried out at two different test
sites. First results, including turbulence and wake measurements, from a
campaign in autumn 2013 are presented. |
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| ISSN: | 1992-0628 1992-0636 |