An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate

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dc.contributor.advisorVerrinder, Robynen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorGinsberg, Samuelen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJohnson, Bruce Edwarden_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-31T11:09:11Z
dc.date.available2014-07-31T11:09:11Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes abstract.
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references
dc.description.abstractThe application of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to locate thermal updraft currentsis a relatively new topic. It was first proposed in 1998 by John Wharington, and, subsequently, several researchers have developed algorithms to search and exploit thermals. However, few people have physically implemented a system and performed field testing. The aim of this project was to develop a low cost system to be carried on a glider to detect thermals effectively. A system was developed from the ground up and consisted of custom hardware and software that was developed specifically for aircraft. Data fusion was performed to estimate the attitude of the aircraft; this was done using a direction cosine (DCM) based method. Altitude and airspeed data were fused by estimating potential and kinetic energy respectively; thus determining the aircraft’s total energy. This data was then interpreted to locate thermal activity. The system comprised an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), airspeed sensor, barometric altitude sensor, Global Positioning System (GPS), temperature sensor, SD card and a realtime telemetry link. These features allowed the system to determine aircraft position, height, airspeed and air temperature in realtime. A custom-designed radio controlled (RC) glider was constructed from composite materials in addition to a second 3.6 m production glider that was used during flight testing. Sensor calibration was done using a wind tunnel with custom designed apparatus that allowed a complete wing with its pitot tube to be tested in one operation. Flight testing was conducted in the field at several different locations over the course of six months. A total of 25 recorded flights were made during this period. Both thermal soaring and ridge soaring were performed to test the system under varying weather conditions. A telemetry link was developed to transfer data in realtime from the aircraft to a custom ground station. The recorded results were post-processed using Matlab and showed that the system was able to detect thermal updrafts. The sensors used in the system were shown to provide acceptable performance once some calibration had been performed. Sensor noise proved to be problematic, and time was spent alleviating its effects.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationJohnson, B. E. (2013). <i>An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5310en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationJohnson, Bruce Edward. <i>"An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5310en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationJohnson, B. 2013. An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Johnson, Bruce Edward AB - The application of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to locate thermal updraft currentsis a relatively new topic. It was first proposed in 1998 by John Wharington, and, subsequently, several researchers have developed algorithms to search and exploit thermals. However, few people have physically implemented a system and performed field testing. The aim of this project was to develop a low cost system to be carried on a glider to detect thermals effectively. A system was developed from the ground up and consisted of custom hardware and software that was developed specifically for aircraft. Data fusion was performed to estimate the attitude of the aircraft; this was done using a direction cosine (DCM) based method. Altitude and airspeed data were fused by estimating potential and kinetic energy respectively; thus determining the aircraft’s total energy. This data was then interpreted to locate thermal activity. The system comprised an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), airspeed sensor, barometric altitude sensor, Global Positioning System (GPS), temperature sensor, SD card and a realtime telemetry link. These features allowed the system to determine aircraft position, height, airspeed and air temperature in realtime. A custom-designed radio controlled (RC) glider was constructed from composite materials in addition to a second 3.6 m production glider that was used during flight testing. Sensor calibration was done using a wind tunnel with custom designed apparatus that allowed a complete wing with its pitot tube to be tested in one operation. Flight testing was conducted in the field at several different locations over the course of six months. A total of 25 recorded flights were made during this period. Both thermal soaring and ridge soaring were performed to test the system under varying weather conditions. A telemetry link was developed to transfer data in realtime from the aircraft to a custom ground station. The recorded results were post-processed using Matlab and showed that the system was able to detect thermal updrafts. The sensors used in the system were shown to provide acceptable performance once some calibration had been performed. Sensor noise proved to be problematic, and time was spent alleviating its effects. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate TI - An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5310 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/5310
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationJohnson BE. An aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimate. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5310en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Chemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherEngineeringen_ZA
dc.titleAn aircraft and provide information about flight performance and local microclimateen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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