Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude

<p>An architecture for a UV wind lidar dedicated to measuring vertical and lateral wind in front of an aircraft for gust load alleviation is presented. To optimize performance and robustness, it includes a fiber laser architecture and a Quadri Mach–Zehnder (QMZ) interferometer with a robust de...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: T. Boulant, T. Michel, M. Valla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2024-12-01
Series:Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Online Access:https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7049/2024/amt-17-7049-2024.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850064335861186560
author T. Boulant
T. Michel
M. Valla
author_facet T. Boulant
T. Michel
M. Valla
author_sort T. Boulant
collection DOAJ
description <p>An architecture for a UV wind lidar dedicated to measuring vertical and lateral wind in front of an aircraft for gust load alleviation is presented. To optimize performance and robustness, it includes a fiber laser architecture and a Quadri Mach–Zehnder (QMZ) interferometer with a robust design to spectrally analyze the backscattered light. Different lidar parameters have been selected to minimize the standard deviation of wind speed measurement projected onto the laser axis, calculated through end-to-end simulations of the instrument. The optimization involves selecting an emission–reception telescope to maximize the number of collected photons backscattered between 100 and 300 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>, a background filter to reduce noise from the scene, and photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to minimize detection noise. Simulations were performed to evaluate lidar performance as a function of laser parameters. This study led to the selection of three laser architectures, a commercial solid-state laser, a design of a fiber laser, and a hybrid fiber laser, resulting in standard deviations of projected wind speed of 0.17, 0.16, and 0.09 <span class="inline-formula">m s<sup>−1</sup></span>, respectively, at 10 <span class="inline-formula">km</span> altitude. To reconstruct the vertical and lateral wind on the flight path, the lidar is directed along four different directions to measure four different projections of the wind. We analytically calculate (and validate through simulations) the directed angle with respect to the flight direction that minimizes the root mean square error (RMSE) between the reconstructed vertical and lateral wind components and the actual ones, assuming turbulence that follows the von Kármán turbulence model. We found that the optimum angle for an estimation at 100 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> is about 50°, resulting in an improvement of about 50 % compared to an angle of 15–30° typically used in current studies.</p>
format Article
id doaj-art-e7fb1a357c9441db9485773b39b84671
institution DOAJ
issn 1867-1381
1867-8548
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Copernicus Publications
record_format Article
series Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
spelling doaj-art-e7fb1a357c9441db9485773b39b846712025-08-20T02:49:19ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482024-12-01177049706410.5194/amt-17-7049-2024Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitudeT. Boulant0T. Michel1M. Valla2DOTA, ONERA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91123 Palaiseau, FranceDOTA, ONERA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91123 Palaiseau, FranceDOTA, ONERA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91123 Palaiseau, France<p>An architecture for a UV wind lidar dedicated to measuring vertical and lateral wind in front of an aircraft for gust load alleviation is presented. To optimize performance and robustness, it includes a fiber laser architecture and a Quadri Mach–Zehnder (QMZ) interferometer with a robust design to spectrally analyze the backscattered light. Different lidar parameters have been selected to minimize the standard deviation of wind speed measurement projected onto the laser axis, calculated through end-to-end simulations of the instrument. The optimization involves selecting an emission–reception telescope to maximize the number of collected photons backscattered between 100 and 300 <span class="inline-formula">m</span>, a background filter to reduce noise from the scene, and photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to minimize detection noise. Simulations were performed to evaluate lidar performance as a function of laser parameters. This study led to the selection of three laser architectures, a commercial solid-state laser, a design of a fiber laser, and a hybrid fiber laser, resulting in standard deviations of projected wind speed of 0.17, 0.16, and 0.09 <span class="inline-formula">m s<sup>−1</sup></span>, respectively, at 10 <span class="inline-formula">km</span> altitude. To reconstruct the vertical and lateral wind on the flight path, the lidar is directed along four different directions to measure four different projections of the wind. We analytically calculate (and validate through simulations) the directed angle with respect to the flight direction that minimizes the root mean square error (RMSE) between the reconstructed vertical and lateral wind components and the actual ones, assuming turbulence that follows the von Kármán turbulence model. We found that the optimum angle for an estimation at 100 <span class="inline-formula">m</span> is about 50°, resulting in an improvement of about 50 % compared to an angle of 15–30° typically used in current studies.</p>https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7049/2024/amt-17-7049-2024.pdf
spellingShingle T. Boulant
T. Michel
M. Valla
Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
title Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
title_full Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
title_fullStr Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
title_full_unstemmed Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
title_short Optimization of a direct-detection UV wind lidar architecture for 3D wind reconstruction at high altitude
title_sort optimization of a direct detection uv wind lidar architecture for 3d wind reconstruction at high altitude
url https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/7049/2024/amt-17-7049-2024.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT tboulant optimizationofadirectdetectionuvwindlidararchitecturefor3dwindreconstructionathighaltitude
AT tmichel optimizationofadirectdetectionuvwindlidararchitecturefor3dwindreconstructionathighaltitude
AT mvalla optimizationofadirectdetectionuvwindlidararchitecturefor3dwindreconstructionathighaltitude