High-resolution wind speed measurements with quadcopter uncrewed aerial systems: calibration and verification in a wind tunnel with an active grid

Abstract. As a contribution to closing observational gaps in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the Simultaneous Wind measurement with Uncrewed Flight Systems in 3D (SWUF-3D) fleet of uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) is utilized for in situ measurements of turbulence. To date, the coefficients for the transformation terms used in our algorithm for deriving wind speeds from avionic data have only been determined via calibration flights in the free field. Therefore, we present in this work calibration and verification under laboratory conditions. The UAS measurements are performed in a wind tunnel equipped with an active grid and constant temperature anemometers (CTAs) as a reference. Calibration is performed in x- and y-coordinate directions of the UAS body frame at wind speeds of 2 … 18 m s−1. For systematic verification of the measurement capabilities and identification of limitations, different measurement scenarios like gusts, velocity steps, and turbulence are generated with the active grid. Furthermore, the measurement accuracy under different angles of sideslip (AoSs) and wind speeds is investigated, and we examined whether the calibration coefficients can be ported to other UASs in the fleet. Our analyses show that the uncertainty in measuring the wind speed depends on the wind speed magnitude and increases with extreme velocity changes and with higher wind speeds, resulting in a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of less than 0.2 m s−1 for steady wind speeds. Applying the calibration coefficients from one UAS to others within the fleet results in comparable accuracies. Flights in gusts of different strengths yield an RMSE of up to 0.6 m s−1. The maximal RMSE occurs in the most extreme velocity steps (i.e., a lower speed of 5 m s−1 and an amplitude of 10 m s−1) and exceeds 1.3 m s−1. For variances below approx. 0.5 and 0.3 m2 s−2, the maximal resolvable frequencies of the turbulence are about 2 and 1 Hz, respectively. The results indicate successful calibration but with susceptibility to high AoSs in high wind speeds, no necessity for wind tunnel calibration for individual UASs, and the need for further research regarding turbulence analysis.