Michigan Aerospace Corporation

Michigan Aerospace Cororation

Charles J Richey

Paul Byron Hays

Peter Tchoryk

David Michael Zuk

David Keith Johnson

Greg Alan Ritter

Anthony Beckman Hays

Parviz Tayebati

Jane Pavlich

Gregory Joseph Wassick

Michael Thomas Dehring

An apparatus providing for simultaneous measurement of the wind upstream and downstream of a wind turbine uses either a single LIDAR beam split into two beams, each focused upstream or downstream of the windmill, or a multiple beam LIDAR with a first beam source aimed toward the upstream direction of the wind and a second beam source aimed at the downstream direction after the wind has passed through the wind turbine. The apparatus may also use LIDAR to measure wind direction and speed by making measurements along slightly different lines of sight, or by pointing the LIDAR in different directions. Two lines of sight allow measuring wind direction in the plane defined by the two lines of sight. Three non-coplanar lines of sight provide the information necessary to determine a full 3-dimensional wind velocity vector. Further, LIDAR may also be used to measure wind speed by estimating the wind velocity using inputs from both aerosol and molecular components.

Atmospheric measurement system

One of first and second beams () of corresponding first and second light () are projected into an atmosphere () and at least one physical property of the atmosphere () is detected from the interference pattern () generated from the resulting scattered light (). The first and second beams () are selected responsive to either a detected signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or a detected aerosol-to-molecular ratio (AMR). The wavelength () of the first light () provides for either molecular or aerosol scattering, whereas the wavelength () of the second light () provides for primarily only aerosol scattering. In accordance with a second aspect, scattered light () from one or more beams () of substantially monochromatic light () projected into the atmosphere () and received from a plurality of interaction regions () or measurement volumes () provides for determining wind power (P*) within a region of the atmosphere ().

Atmospheric measurement system and method

A magnitude and direction, or a measure responsive thereto, of a velocity (V) of a first portion () of an atmosphere () are determined from at least first and second portions of scattered light () generated along a common beam of light () within the first portion () of the atmosphere () and received along linearly independent directions at locations that are relatively remote with respect to one another, at least one of which is relatively remote from a source () of the beam of light ().

At least one second beam of light from a first beam of light generated by a laser is directed into an atmosphere. Light therefrom scattered by molecules or aerosols in the atmosphere is collected by at least one telescope as at least one light signal, which together with a reference beam from the first beam of light are simultaneously processed by a Fabry-P&#xe9;rot etalon, and resulting fringe patterns are imaged onto a detector adapted to output a resulting at least one signal responsive thereto.

Optical air data system

A first beam of light from a laser is split by a beam splitter into a reference beam and at least one second beam of light, the latter of which is directed into an atmosphere. Light from the at least one second beam of light scattered by molecules or aerosols in the atmosphere is collected by at least one telescope as at least one light signal. The at least one light signal and the reference beam are simultaneously processed by a common interferometer, and resulting fringe patterns are imaged onto a detector and processed by a data processor to determine at least one associated air data product.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Charles J Richey