System and method for turbulence detection

• US 9,395,438 B1
• Filed: 12/17/2012
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Woodell, Daniel L., Finley, Jeffery A., Koenigs, Gregory J., Conkling, John G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr
• Application Number:
  US13/717,052
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 342 26 R- 26 D, 342/175, 342192-197, 356/27, 356/28, 356/28.5, 702 1- 4, 731/700.1, 731/701.1, 7317016-17018, 731/702.4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/95 for meteorological use
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/953 mounted on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/02 of systems according to group G01S13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/04 Display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/062 in which different colours are used
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A aircraft hazard warning system or method can be utilized to determine a location of turbulence, hail or other hazard for an aircraft. The aircraft hazard warning system can utilize processing electronics coupled to an antenna. The processing electronics can determine an inferred presence of turbulence in response to lightning sensor data, radar reflectivity data, turbulence data, geographic location data, vertical structure analysis data, and/or temperature data. The system can include a display for showing the turbulence hazard and its location.

Claims

1. A method of displaying an indication of a hazard on an aircraft display using an avionics warning system, the method comprising:

sensing presence of lightning using a lightning sensor to provide lightning detection data;

providing a first turbulence assessment in response to a spectral width parameter associated with radar returns output from an airborne radar antenna using the avionics warning system;

providing an inferential turbulence detection assessment in response to the lightning detection data using the avionics warning system; and

providing the indication using the inferential turbulence detection assessment and the first turbulence assessment using a processing system in the avionics warning system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the avionics warning system determines one or more of:

a target range, Doppler velocity information, a Doppler derived spectral width parameter, an area reflectivity parameter, a gradient reflectivity parameter, vertical structure, and a magnitude reflectivity parameter using the radar returns, wherein the inferential turbulence detection assessment is provided using the one or more of;

the target range, Doppler velocity information, Doppler derived spectral width parameter, area reflectivity parameter, gradient reflectivity parameter, vertical structure, and magnitude reflectivity parameter.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the lightning detection data includes one or more of:

lightning polarity, lightning strike rate, lightning strike range, lightning strike bearing, lightning strike strength, lightning type, and lightning rate history.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the avionics warning system receives atmospheric temperature data including one or more of:

local temperature, local temperature variations with time, local temperature variations with altitude, remotely determined temperature, and remotely determined temperature gradients in either range or altitude and wherein the processing system uses the atmospheric temperature data to provide the inferential turbulence detection assessment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the avionics warning system provides vertical structure analysis data in response to the radar returns, the vertical structural analysis data being used to provide the inferential turbulence detection assessment and including one or more of:

vertical height, vertical growth rate, vertical history assessment, assessment of whether the aircraft path will intersect a portion of a weather cell, and cell maturity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a predictive overflight assessment and providing the indication if the predictive overflight assessment indicates that the hazard is above a flight path of an aircraft associated with the aircraft display.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the hazard is a turbulence hazard.

8. An aircraft hazard warning apparatus for determining a presence of a convective cell or turbulence in an environment of an aircraft, the apparatus comprising:

a weather radar antenna for receiving radar returns; and

an electronic processing system for determining the presence of the convective cell or turbulence, the processing system using radar reflectivity data associated with the radar returns received by the radar antenna, the processing system using gradients in the radar reflectivity data to determine the presence of the convective cell or turbulence, wherein the presence is determined when the gradients are very high gradients, wherein the very high gradients are associated with the radar reflectivity data indicating a change of one range of reflectivity corresponding to a first color displayed on a display to another range of reflectivity corresponding to a second color displayed on the display, wherein an intermediate range is between the first range and the second range and corresponds to a third color displayed on the display, the change being within a few range bins.

9. An aircraft hazard warning apparatus for determining a presence of a convective cell or turbulence in an environment of an aircraft, the apparatus comprising:

a radar antenna for receiving radar returns; and

an electronic processing system for determining the presence of the convective cell or turbulence, the processing system receiving radar reflectivity data associated with the radar returns received by the radar antenna, the processing system using gradients in the radar reflectivity data to determining the presence of the convective cell or turbulence, wherein the presence is determined when the gradients are very high gradients, wherein the very high gradients are associated with the radar reflectivity data indicating a change of one range of reflectivity corresponding to a first color displayed on a display to another range of reflectivity corresponding to a second color displayed on the display, wherein an intermediate range is between the first range and the second range and corresponds to a third color displayed on the display, the change being within one nautical mile.

10. An aircraft hazard warning system for determining a presence of turbulence, comprising:

a radar antenna for receiving radar returns; and

an onboard electronic processing system in communication with the radar antenna and configured to receive the radar returns from the radar antenna and to determine the presence of the turbulence in response to an inferential turbulence assessment and a direct turbulence assessment, the processing system being configured to use a spectral width parameter associated with the radar returns received by the radar antenna for the direct turbulence assessment, the processing system using a radar reflectivity parameter associated with the radar returns for the inferential turbulence assessment.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a storm growth rate is used to determine storm maturity for the inferential turbulence assessment, wherein the inferential turbulence assessment estimates a height of a bow wave using the storm maturity.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing system determines one or more of:

a target range, Doppler velocity information, a Doppler derived spectral width parameter, an area reflectivity parameter, a gradient reflectivity parameter, vertical structure, and a magnitude reflectivity parameter using the radar returns, wherein the inferential turbulence assessment is provided using the one or more of;

the target range, Doppler velocity information, a Doppler derived spectral width parameter, an area reflectivity parameter, a gradient reflectivity parameter, vertical structure, and a magnitude reflectivity parameter.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing system uses lightning sensor data including one or more of:

lightning polarity, lightning strike rate, lightning strike range, lightning strike bearing, lightning strike strength, lightning type, and lightning rate history.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing system receives atmospheric temperature data including one or more of:

local temperature, local temperature variations with time, local temperature variations with altitude, remotely determined temperature, and remotely determined temperature gradients in either range or altitude and wherein the processing system uses the atmospheric temperature data to provide the inferential turbulence detection assessment.

15. A method of displaying an indication of a hazard on an aircraft display using an avionics system in response to radar returns associated with an airborne radar antenna, the method comprising:

receiving the radar returns on the airborne radar antenna;

providing a first turbulence assessment in response to a spectral width parameter associated with the radar returns;

providing an inferential turbulence detection assessment in response to radar reflectivity data associated with the radar returns and temperature data; and

providing the indication using the inferential turbulence detection assessment and the first turbulence assessment in an electronic processing system.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing system determines one or more of:

a target range, Doppler velocity information, a Doppler derived spectral width parameter, an area reflectivity parameter, a gradient reflectivity parameter, vertical structure, and a magnitude reflectivity parameter using the radar return data.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing system uses lightning sensor data for the inferential turbulence detection assessment including one or more of:

lightning polarity, lightning strike rate, lightning range, lightning bearing, lightning strike strength, lightning type, and lightning rate history.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing system uses atmospheric temperature data for the inferential turbulence detection assessment including one or more of:

local temperature, local temperature variations with time, local temperature variations with altitude, remotely determined temperature, and remotely determined temperature gradients in either range or altitude.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the processing system uses vertical structure analysis data for the inferential turbulence detection assessment including one or more of:

vertical height, vertical growth rate, vertical history assessment, assessment of whether the aircraft path will intersect a portion of a weather cell, and cell maturity.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a predictive overflight assessment and providing the indication if the predictive overflight assessment indicates that the hazard is above a flight path of an aircraft associated with the aircraft display.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the hazard is a turbulence hazard.