METHOD FOR DETERMINING HIGHT OF ROUGHNESS OF THE SURFACE OF A RESERVOIR Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC G01W1/08 

FIELD: surface roughness measurement.

SUBSTANCE: invention is intended to determine the height of the surface roughness of the reservoir. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is equipped with a navigation system, an altimeter that enables flights at ultra-low altitudes above the water surface and means of wireless data transmission. The area of interest of a reservoir is chosen, free from natural or man-made objects. The flight route at the first height, which is the minimum safe height from the water surface, is plotted. At the same time, the length of the route should ensure the flight of the UAV for at least five minutes. The UAV is directed to the starting point of the route. The UAV is switched to the flight mode without keeping the course and flown along the route. UAV navigation data is transmitted via a wireless communication channel to the control and data processing complex. The average flight speed over the reservoir is determined by the deviations of the UAV route from the given route under the influence of the wind flow by solving the inverse geodetic problem. Similarly, the average wind speed at the second height is determined. To do this, the UAV is switched to the course-holding mode, moved to the second measurement height, which is not more than 60 m from the water surface to a point with horizontal coordinates coinciding with the coordinates of the starting point of the route at the first flight height. The flight is carried out in the direction coinciding with the direction of the route at the first flight altitude. According to the measured wind speeds at two heights, the height of the surface roughness of the reservoir is calculated.

EFFECT: increased efficiency in determining the height of the roughness of the surface of the reservoir, the possibility of making measurements in any area of interest to the reservoir.

1 cl