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 receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with optics and adapted to analyze the path of the laser through the atmosphere, the single-pixel photodiode subdivided into a plurality of distinct detecting areas, each detecting area acting as a separate photodetector and spaced apart from other detecting areas at a known particular distance, each detecting area receiving a scintillation pattern created by atmospheric eddies diffracting and refracting scattered laser radiation, and, for each detecting area, 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 detecting area 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.
24 Citations
20 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 receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with optics and adapted to analyze the path of the laser through the atmosphere, the single-pixel photodiode subdivided into a plurality of distinct detecting areas, each detecting area acting as a separate photodetector and spaced apart from other detecting areas at a known particular distance, each detecting area receiving a scintillation pattern created by atmospheric eddies diffracting and refracting scattered laser radiation, and, for each detecting area, 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 detecting area and to generate a crosswind profile along the path of the laser. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A device for optically measuring a cross-movement profile within a medium, comprising:
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a receiver comprising a single-pixel photodiode coupled with optics and adapted to analyze the path of the laser through the medium, the single-pixel photodiode subdivided into a plurality of distinct detecting areas, each detecting area acting as a separate photodetector and spaced apart from other detecting areas at a known particular distance, each detecting area configured to receive, over time and from a substantially common direction, 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 detecting area, converting each received snapshot into a single data point measuring cumulative light intensity; and the device configured to compare cumulative light intensities from each detecting area 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 distinct detecting areas. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. 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 single-pixel photodiode receiver coupled with optics and subdivided into a plurality of distinct detecting areas, a plurality of scintillation patterns, each scintillation pattern created by eddies in the medium diffracting and refracting scattered radiation, each detecting area spaced apart from other detecting areas at a known particular distance and acting as a separate photodetector; for each detecting area, converting a received particular 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 (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification