Crosswind speed measurement by optical measurement of scintillation
First Claim
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1. A device for optically measuring crosswind, comprising:
- a laser transmitter adapted to generate a laser to illuminate a path through an atmosphere;
a plurality of receivers, each receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with distinct optics and adapted to analyze the path of the laser through the atmosphere, each receiver spaced apart from other receivers at a known particular distance, each receiver receiving a scintillation pattern created by atmospheric eddies diffracting and refracting scattered laser radiation, and, for each receiver, converting the received scintillation pattern into a single data point measuring cumulative light intensity; and
the device adapted to compare cumulative light intensities from each receiver and to generate a crosswind profile along the path of the laser.
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Abstract
The present disclosure describes methods and systems for measuring crosswind speed by optical measurement of laser scintillation. One method includes projecting radiation into a medium, receiving, over time, with a photodetector receiver, a plurality of scintillation patterns of scattered radiation, comparing cumulative a radiation intensity for each received scintillation pattern of the received plurality of scintillation patterns, and measuring a cumulative weighted average cross-movement within the medium using the compared cumulative radiation intensities.
28 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A device for optically measuring crosswind, comprising:
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a laser transmitter adapted to generate a laser to illuminate a path through an atmosphere; a plurality of receivers, each receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with distinct optics and adapted to analyze the path of the laser through the atmosphere, each receiver spaced apart from other receivers at a known particular distance, each receiver receiving a scintillation pattern created by atmospheric eddies diffracting and refracting scattered laser radiation, and, for each receiver, converting the received scintillation pattern into a single data point measuring cumulative light intensity; and the device adapted to compare cumulative light intensities from each receiver and to generate a crosswind profile along the path of the laser. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A device for optically measuring a cross-movement profile within a medium, comprising:
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a plurality of receivers spaced apart from other receivers at a known particular distance, each receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with distinct optics and adapted to analyze a path of a laser through a medium, each receiver adapted to receive from a substantially common direction and, over time, a plurality of snapshots of a moving scintillation pattern created by eddies in the medium due to temperature gradients diffracting and refracting scattered laser radiation, and for each receiver, converting each received snapshot into a single data point measuring cumulative light intensity; and the device adapted to compare cumulative light intensities from each receiver and to generate a cross-movement profile within the medium, the generation of the cross-movement profile a function of the particular spacing between, and a size of, each of the plurality of receivers. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for measuring cross-movement within a medium for medium-profiling purposes, comprising:
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projecting radiation into a medium to illuminate a path through the medium; receiving, over time, with a photodetector receiver of a plurality of photodetector receivers, a plurality of scintillation patterns, each scintillation pattern created by eddies in the medium diffracting and refracting scattered radiation, each photodetector receiver spaced apart from other photodetector receivers at a known particular distance, and each photodetector receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with distinct optics; for each photodetector receiver, converting each received scintillation pattern into a single data point measuring cumulative radiation intensity; comparing the cumulative radiation intensity for each received scintillation pattern of the received plurality of scintillation patterns; and calculating a cumulative weighted average cross-movement within the medium along the path using the compared cumulative radiation intensities. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification