forward scatter sensor

Abstract

A forward scatter sensor comprising: a transmitter that emits a single sheet of light; a receiver that is offset from the path of propagation of the sheet of light and observes a measurement from the intersection defined by the path of propagation of the sheet of light and the field of view of the receiver volume of light scattered by falling particles; control entity comprising an analyzer that records a measurement signal describing the intensity of light captured by the receiver as a function of time, based on the time period of the measurement signal a precipitation analysis is performed, the analysis includes One or more doublets are identified in the time segment of the measurement signal, each doublet representing a corresponding droplet and comprising a first peak representing light refracted from the bottom of the corresponding droplet upon entering the measurement volume measuring a second peak of light reflected from the top of the corresponding droplet upon exit of the volume; deriving one or more precipitation parameters based at least in part on the identified one or more double peaks; based at least in part on the derived one or more precipitation parameter to derive one or more precipitation indicators.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to the operation of a forward scatter sensor for meteorological applications. In particular, non-limiting example embodiments of the present invention relate to providing a forward scatter sensor that enables accurate and reliable precipitation analysis. Background technique [0002] Sensor devices utilizing the forward scatter principle are widely used in atmospheric and meteorological research, eg for measurements of atmospheric visibility and / or for precipitation measurements. Here, we refer to this sensor device as a forward scatter sensor. [0003] Measurements performed using forward scatter sensors are based on the analysis of light scattered from particles in the atmosphere: the transmitter sends a cone-shaped beam of light to the receiver such that it deviates from the direct path between the transmitter and receiver, while the receiver captures light from Light scattered by particles in the atmosphere. The rec...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Environmental conditions can lead to gradual contamination and wear of the optical (and other) components of the forward scatter sensor, which in turn degrades the accuracy and reliability of measurements obtained from the forward scatter sensor

Another factor that may affect the measurement performance of a forward scatter sensor is that, due to continuous operation in field conditions, it is susceptible to external shocks that may not be large enough to cause actual damage, but may still cause damage to the transmitter and receiver detrimentally affects the alignment between the sensors, which can result in compromised measurement performance

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