In support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service&rsquo / s (NWS) flash flood warning and heavy precipitation forecast efforts, the NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) has been providing satellite based precipitation estimates operationally since 1978. Two of the satellite based rainfall algorithms are the Hydro-Estimator (HE) and the Self-Calibrating Multivariate Precipitation Retrieval (SCaMPR). Satellite based rainfall algorithms need to be adjusted for the orographic events and atmospheric variables for the continued improvement of the estimates. However, unlike the HE algorithm, the SCaMPR does not currently make any adjustments for the effects of complex topography on rainfall estimate. Bias structure of the SCaMPR algorithm suggests that the rainfall algorithm underestimates precipitation in case of upward atmospheric movements and high temperature levels. Also SCaMPR algorithm overestimates rainfall in case of downward atmospheric movements and low temperature levels. A regionally dependent empirical elevation-based bias correction technique and also a temperature based bias correction technique may help to improve the quality of satellite-derived precipitation products. In this study, an orographic correction method and a temperature correction method that will enhance precipitation distribution, improve accuracy and remove topography and temperature dependent bias is developed for the Self-Calibrating Multivariate Precipitation Retrieval (SCaMPR) rainfall algorithm to be used in operational forecasting for meteorological and hydrological applications.

Various methods have been used, including airborne radars, LIDAR, observation of flying birds, towers, tethered balloons, and aircraft to gain both a qualitative and quantitative representation of how heat and moisture are transported to higher altitudes and grow the boundary or mixing layer by thermal updrafts. This paper builds upon that research using an instrumented glider to determine the structure and build a mathematical model of thermals in a desert environment. During these flights, it was discovered that the traditional view of a thermal as a singular rising plume of air did not sufficiently explain what was being observed, but rather another phenomenon was occurring. This paper puts forth the argument and a mathematical model to show that thermals actually take the form of a hexagonal convection cell at higher levels in the convective boundary layer when the thermal acts as if unrestrained by borders as in non-linear cases of free convection.

Various methods have been used, including airborne radars, LIDAR, observation of flying birds, towers, tethered balloons, and aircraft to gain both a qualitative and quantitative representation of how heat and moisture are transported to higher altitudes and grow the boundary or mixing layer by thermal updrafts. This paper builds upon that research using an instrumented glider to determine the structure and build a mathematical model of thermals in a desert environment. During these flights, it was discovered that the traditional view of a thermal as a singular rising plume of air did not sufficiently explain what was being observed, but rather another phenomenon was occurring. This paper puts forth the argument and a mathematical model to show that thermals actually take the form of a hexagonal convection cell at higher levels in the convective boundary layer when the thermal acts as if unrestrained by borders as in non-linear cases of free convection.

Computational fluid dynamics was used to simulate solar chimney power plants and investigate modeling techniques and expected energy output from the system. The solar chimney consists of three primary parts: a collector made of a transparent material such as glass, a tower made of concrete located at the center of the collector, and a turbine that is typically placed at the bottom of the tower. The collector absorbs solar radiation and heats the air below, whereby air flows inward towards the tower. As air exits at the top of the tower, more air is drawn below the collector repeating the process. The turbine converts pressure within the flow into power. The study investigated three validation cases to numerically model the system properly. Modeling the turbine as a pressure drop allows for the turbine power output to be calculated while not physically modeling the turbine. The numerical model was used to investigate air properties, such as velocity, temperature, and pressure. The results supported the claim that increasing the energy into the system increased both the velocities and temperatures. Also, increasing the turbine pressure drop decreases the velocities and increases the temperatures within the system. In addition to the numerical model, analytical models representing the vertical velocity without the turbine and the maximum power output from a specific chimney were used to investigate the effects on the flow when varying the geometry. Increasing the height of the tower increased the vertical velocity and power output, and increasing the diameter increased the power output. Dimensionless variables were used in a regression analysis to develop a predictive equation for power output. The predictive equation was tested with new simulations and was shown to be in very good agreement. / Master of Science

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / R. Todd Gabbard / This thesis presents design possibilities for reducing the ecological impact of the operational systems of high-rise buildings in Kolkata, India. This research is supported by a study of the current urban situation of Kolkata which shows a recent growth in number of high-rise buildings and a need for ecological considerations in their operational systems. To fulfill this need this thesis studied recent developments in alternative operational system design and explored the possibility of developing operational systems in a proposed residential high-rise building. In the process of developing an alternative operational system for a high-rise building in Kolkata this thesis firstly studied development of operational systems in high-rise buildings and recent sustainable architectural guidelines to understand the primary design necessities for ecological considerations. Secondly a study of alternative design strategies and techniques was done and a research for the development of a building integrated solar thermal updraft façade was carried out. The research into a building integrated solar thermal updraft façade showed the possibility of developing a façade system in high-rise buildings which can generate electricity. Finally on the basis of the studies and the research an analysis was done to check the reduction in carbon footprint and improvement in the design of operational systems in a hypothetical high-rise residential building in Kolkata.

Les petit drones à voilure fixe rendent services aux secteurs de la recherche, de l'armée et de l'industrie, mais souffrent toujours de portée et de charge utile limitées. Le vol thermique permet de réduire la consommation d'énergie. Cependant,sans télédétection d'ascendances, un drone ne peut bénéficier d'une ascendance qu'en la rencontrant par hasard. Dans cette thèse, un nouveau cadre pour le vol à voile longue distance autonome est élaboré, permettant à un drone planeur de localiser visuellement des ascendances sous-cumulus et d’en récolter l'énergie de manière efficace. S'appuyant sur le filtre de Kalman non parfumé, une méthode de vision monoculaire est établie pour l'estimation des paramètres d’ascendances. Sa capacité de fournir des estimations convergentes et cohérentes est évaluée par des simulations Monte Carlo. Les incertitudes de modèle, le bruit de traitement de l'image et les trajectoires de l'observateur peuvent dégrader ces estimés. Par conséquent, un deuxième axe de cette thèse est la conception d'un planificateur de trajectoire robuste basé sur des cartes d'ascendances. Le planificateur fait le compromis entre le temps de vol et le risque d’un atterrissage forcé dans les champs tout en tenant compte des incertitudes d'estimation dans le processus de prise de décision. Il est illustré que la charge de calcul du planificateur de trajectoire proposé est réalisable sur une plate-forme informatique peu coûteuse. Les algorithmes proposés d’estimation ainsi que de planification sont évalués conjointement dans un simulateur de vol à 6 axes, mettant en évidence des améliorations significatives par rapport aux vols à voile longue distance autonomes actuels. / Small fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) provide utility to research, military, and industrial sectors at comparablyreasonable cost, but still suffer from both limited operational ranges and payload capacities. Thermal soaring flight for UAVsoffers a significant potential to reduce the energy consumption. However, without remote sensing of updrafts, a glider UAVcan only benefit from an updraft when encountering it by chance. In this thesis, a new framework for autonomous cross-country soaring is elaborated, enabling a glider UAV to visually localize sub-cumulus thermal updrafts and to efficiently gain energy from them.Relying on the Unscented Kalman Filter, a monocular vision-based method is established, for remotely estimatingsub-cumulus updraft parameters. Its capability of providing convergent and consistent state estimates is assessed relyingon Monte Carlo Simulations. Model uncertainties, image processing noise, and poor observer trajectories can degrade theestimated updraft parameters. Therefore, a second focus of this thesis is the design of a robust probabilistic path plannerfor map-based autonomous cross-country soaring. The proposed path planner balances between the flight time and theoutlanding risk by taking into account the estimation uncertainties in the decision making process. The suggested updraftestimation and path planning algorithms are jointly assessed in a 6 Degrees Of Freedom simulator, highlighting significantperformance improvements with respect to state of the art approaches in autonomous cross-country soaring while it is alsoshown that the path planner is implementable on a low-cost computer platform.