Method and apparatus for detecting wind velocities by means of a doppler-lidar system

• Main Authors: HOFMANN MICHAEL, SOBOTTA GERALD, HALLDORSSON THORSTEINN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 26.07.2007
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION,OR SHOCK; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; TESTING

In the case of a method of detecting wind velocities by means of a Doppler-lidar system ( 10 ), a laser beam of a defined frequency generated by means of a laser ( 11 ) is emitted by a transmitting device ( 12 ) toward a space area and the light backscattered from the space area is received by means of a receiving telescope ( 13 ). For determining a Doppler shift, an interferogram is generated by means of an interferometer ( 16 ), the intensity distribution of the interferogram being directly measured by means of a photodetector ( 17 ). The measured intensity distribution is compared with one or more reference patterns which had previously been determined for defined parameters and are filed in a memory device ( 18 a). From the comparison, the Doppler shift is determined as a measurement for the wind velocity. The Doppler-lidar system ( 10 ) comprises an analyzing unit ( 18 a , 18 b) for implementing the method, having a comparison unit ( 18 b) for the comparison of reference patterns with the measured interferogram.