Raindrop Fall Velocity Research Articles

Prediction of rain erosion damage progression using disdrometer rain data: The importance of liquid water content

Wind turbine blade erosion poses a significant challenge to the durability and performance of wind turbines. Modeling of rain erosion damage, considering atmospheric conditions, improves our understanding of the progression of leading-edge erosion on wind turbine blades. In this study, we investigate the impact of varying raindrop characteristics on rain erosion damage development. We analyse 2.5 years of data from a disdrometer, which measures the size and velocity of falling rain droplets, at Risø campus. Various post-processing methods of the disdrometer data are used for estimating representative droplet diameters and fall velocities for each rain event. We compare measured droplet fall velocities with theoretical terminal velocities, revealing a necessity for revising theoretical approaches to raindrop fall velocity for erosion damage modeling. The measured rain rates and representative fall velocities are used to calculate the liquid water content in the air. We introduce a bin-wise summation method for estimating the liquid water content, circumventing the need for representative droplet assumptions. As this method provides the most accurate input for the damage model, we benchmark the other post-processing methods against it and employ it to evaluate bias estimates of associated damage predictions. The largest bias (22%) in accumulated damage is found with an arithmetic mean droplet diameter approach and the smallest bias (-2%) with the median volume estimation method for damage model input. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, for a given rainfall volume, smaller droplets contribute to larger accumulated damage compared to larger droplets.

Raindrop fall velocity in turbulent flow: an observational study

Abstract. Laboratory measurements of drop fall speeds by Gunn–Kinzer under still air conditions with pressure corrections of Beard are accepted as the “gold standard”. We present measured fall speeds of 2 and 3 mm raindrops falling in turbulent flow with 2D-video disdrometer (2DVD) and simultaneous measurements of wind velocity fluctuations using a 3D-sonic anemometer. The findings based on six rain events are, (i) the mean fall speed decreases (from the Gunn–Kinzer terminal velocity) with increasing turbulent intensity, and (ii) the standard deviation increases with increase in the rms of the air velocity fluctuations. These findings are compared with other observations reported in the literature.

Particle imaging auto-measurement system for microphysical characteristics of raindrops in natural rain

In order to explore microphysical properties of raindrops, light field and imaging system were designed based on the particle imaging measurement technology. Meanwhile, the software for image identification, extraction and calculation were investigated, and then a raindrop measurement system combined with a charge coupled device sensor was developed. The repeatability and accuracy of steel ball estimation were checked in diameter and fall velocity and yielded low standard deviations and small relative errors. The results demonstrate that the system provides a reliable detection of raindrop size and fall velocity. Additionally, the designed system was operated for in situ measurement of natural rain. Raindrop diameter and fall velocity were, on average, 1.02 mm and 3.45 m s−1, respectively, and small-sized particles were the predominant contributor to the natural rainfall. Notably, raindrop fall velocities were slightly higher than the corresponding terminal velocities calculated by classical models under the standard sea-level conditions. In order to identify completely the features and variations of raindrops, it is essential to implement long-term measurements and take into account the driving factors such as air motions, raindrop breakup or coalescence. This work will be pursued soon in coming future.

Investigation of Raindrops Fall Velocity During Different Monsoon Seasons Over the Western Ghats, India

AbstractUsing the Two‐Dimensional Video Disdrometer measurements, we investigated the fall velocity of raindrops at Mahabaleshwar (17.92°N, 73.6°E, ~1.4 km above mean sea level, AMSL), a tropical site on the Western Ghats of India. The analysis is for different seasons during 2012–2015. To increase the reliability and accuracy of analysis, the raindrops with diameters in the range 0.5–2 mm and horizontal wind speed < 2 m s−1 are considered. The observed raindrop fall velocities have been corrected for the effect of air density. The ratio between the observed velocity and calculated terminal velocity is considered for estimating superterminal (positively skewed; higher than terminal velocity) and subterminal (negatively skewed; lower than terminal velocity) raindrops. The distribution of these skewed raindrops and its relationship with rain rate, drop diameter, and axis ratio for different seasons has been examined. Results indicate the presence of superterminal and subterminal raindrops in definite proportion in all the season with a majority of the drops have a diameter less than 1 mm. It is found that most of the superterminal raindrops occur at rain rates below 5 mm hr−1, while subterminal raindrops are relatively higher above this rain rate. It is observed that the superterminal raindrops are usually small in size and prolate in shape, while the subterminal raindrops are relatively large and oblate in shape. The diurnal variation of these raindrops during different seasons is also studied.

Enhancement of Packet Delivery Ratio during Rain Attenuation for Long Range Technology

Countries with tropical climates experience various weather changes throughout the year. The weather can drastically change from extremely hot and humid to a complete downpour in a twenty-four-hour cycle. Different atmospheric conditions such as atmospheric gas attenuation, cloud attenuation, and rain attenuation can cause interruption of electromagnetic signals and weaken the radio signals. The amount of attenuation is mostly depending on the raindrops. Rate of attenuation by rain depends on the composition, temperature, orientation, shape and fall velocity of raindrops. In this paper, we measure the effect of different atmospheric attenuations, particularly due to rain for non-line-of-sight environments and proposed a LoRa (Long Range) based wireless mesh network to enhance packet delivery ratio (PDR). We experimented with the LoRa based wireless network by taking the packet delivery ratio at different times of the day when there was no rain and performed some experiments while raining. The experiments conclude that PDR is affected by different volumes of rain where PDR decreases significantly from 100% when it was not raining and decreases to 89.5% when it rains. The results also show that the LoRa device can successfully transmit up to 1.7km in a line-of-sight environment and around 1.3km in a non-line-of-sight environment without rain. The results show the effect of atmospheric attenuation to LoRa wireless network and become a consideration factor when designing any LoRa applications for outdoor deployment.

Raindrop fall velocities from an optical array probe and 2-D video disdrometer

Abstract. We report on fall speed measurements of raindrops in light-to-heavy rain events from two climatically different regimes (Greeley, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama) using the high-resolution (50 µm) Meteorological Particle Spectrometer (MPS) and a third-generation (170 µm resolution) 2-D video disdrometer (2DVD). To mitigate wind effects, especially for the small drops, both instruments were installed within a 2∕3-scale Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) enclosure. Two cases involved light-to-moderate wind speeds/gusts while the third case was a tornadic supercell and several squall lines that passed over the site with high wind speeds/gusts. As a proxy for turbulent intensity, maximum wind speeds from 10 m height at the instrumented site recorded every 3 s were differenced with the 5 min average wind speeds and then squared. The fall speeds vs. size from 0.1 to 2 and >0.7 mm were derived from the MPS and the 2DVD, respectively. Consistency of fall speeds from the two instruments in the overlap region (0.7–2 mm) gave confidence in the data quality and processing methodologies. Our results indicate that under low turbulence, the mean fall speeds agree well with fits to the terminal velocity measured in the laboratory by Gunn and Kinzer from 100 µm up to precipitation sizes. The histograms of fall speeds for 0.5, 0.7, 1 and 1.5 mm sizes were examined in detail under the same conditions. The histogram shapes for the 1 and 1.5 mm sizes were symmetric and in good agreement between the two instruments with no evidence of skewness or of sub- or super-terminal fall speeds. The histograms of the smaller 0.5 and 0.7 mm drops from MPS, while generally symmetric, showed that occasional occurrences of sub- and super-terminal fall speeds could not be ruled out. In the supercell case, the very strong gusts and inferred high turbulence intensity caused a significant broadening of the fall speed distributions with negative skewness (for drops of 1.3, 2 and 3 mm). The mean fall speeds were also found to decrease nearly linearly with increasing turbulent intensity attaining values about 25–30 % less than the terminal velocity of Gunn–Kinzer, i.e., sub-terminal fall speeds.

Characteristics of summer and winter precipitation over northern China

In this paper, the statistical properties of summer and winter precipitation over the northern China plain are investigated by using a two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) and a micro-rain radar (MRR). The properties of summer precipitation presented herein are bulk properties (radar reflectivity, reflectivity-weighted fall velocity, liquid water content, and rainfall rate), raindrop fall velocity, axis ratio, and particle size distribution. Well correlations can be found among the diurnal cycles of radar reflectivity, liquid water content, and rainfall rate, whereas reflectivity-weighted fall velocity is poorly related to other bulk properties. The vertical profiles exhibit that radar reflectivity for stratiform rain is increasing with the altitude decreasing, in contrast, liquid water content and rainfall rate are reducing during the falling. These facts are useful for the radar-based rainfall rate retrieval algorithm. Axis ratio measurements are, for the first time, obtained and analyzed in northern China, which are particularly important for improving microphysical scheme in the climate models. In the constraint gamma model, the μ−Λ relation is adapted to the particle size distribution of stratiform rain, while the normalized gamma distributions for convective rain are separated to maritime-like and continental categories following the orientations and mechanisms of the storms. A new bulk-property-based algorithm is developed for the classification of convective and stratiform precipitation. For winter precipitation, radar reflectivity and snowfall rate for aggregates are calculated from the disdrometer data. The relationship of radar reflectivity and snowfall rate is obtained and validated with MRR data. The characteristics of summer and winter precipitation will be used to improve the microphysical scheme and evaluate the representation of precipitation in the climate models.

Measuring Hydrometeors with a Precipitation Microphysical Characteristics Sensor: Calibration and Field Measurements

Aiming at the simultaneous measurement of the size, shape, and fall velocity of precipitation particles in the natural environment, we present here a new ground-based precipitation microphysical characteristics sensor (PMCS) based on the particle imaging velocimetry technology. The PMCS can capture autocorrelated images of precipitation particles by double-exposure in one frame, by which the size, axis ratio, and fall velocity of precipitation particles can be calculated. The PMCS is calibrated by a series of glass balls with certain diameters under varying light conditions, and a self-adaptive threshold method is proposed. The shape, axis ratio, and fall velocity of raindrops were calculated and discussed based on the field measurement results of PMCS. The typical shape of large raindrop is an oblate ellipsoid, the axis ratio of raindrops decreases linearly with the diameter, the fall velocity of raindrops approaches its asymptote, and the above observed results are in good agreement with the empirical models; the synchronous observation of a PMCS, an OTT PARSIVEL disdrometer, and a rain gauge shows that the PMCS is able to measure the rain intensity, accumulated rainfall, and drop size distribution with high accuracy. These results have validated the performance of PMCS.

Impacts of Raindrop Fall Velocity and Axis Ratio Errors on Dual-Polarization Radar Rainfall Estimation

Abstract Motivated by the field observations of fall velocity and axis ratio deviations from predicted terminal velocity and equilibrium axis ratio values, the combined effects of raindrop fall velocity and axis ratio deviations on dual-polarization radar rainfall estimations were investigated. A radar rainfall retrieval algorithm [Colorado State University–Hydrometeor Identification Rainfall Optimization (CSU-HIDRO)] served as the test bed. Subsequent investigations determined that the available field measurements, which were very limited in scope, of the fall velocity and axis ratio deviations indicated rain-rate estimation errors of approximately 20%. Based on these findings, a sensitivity study was then performed using uncorrelated fall velocity and axis ratio deviations around the predicted values. Significant rain-rate estimation errors were observed for the realistic combinations of fall velocity and axis ratio deviations. It was shown that the maximum rain-rate estimation error can reach up to approximately 200% for combinations of fall velocity and axis ratio deviations (5000 drop size distribution samples were simulated for each combination) between −10% and +10% of the predicted values for each. The maximum standard deviation of errors was as great as 75% for the same combinations of fall velocity and axis ratio deviations. The authors found that use of dual-polarization radars to accurately estimate rainfall, during natural rain events, also requires a reanalysis of the parameterizations for raindrop fall velocity and axis ratio. These parameterizations should consider both the coupling between these two parameters and factors that may introduce any possible deviations of the predicted values of these parameters.

Analysis of the microphysical properties of a stratiform rain event using an L-Band profiler radar

This paper investigates spatial and temporal distributions of the microphysical properties of precipitating stratiform clouds based on Doppler spectra of rain particles observed by an L-band profiler radar. The retrieval of raindrop size distributions (RSDs) is accomplished through eliminating vertical air motion and isolating the terminal fall velocity of raindrops in the observed Doppler velocity spectrum. The microphysical properties of raindrops in a broad stratiform region with weak convective cells are studied using data collected from a 1320-MHz wind profiler radar in Huayin, Shaanxi Province on 14 May 2009. RSDs and gamma function parameters are retrieved at altitudes between 700 and 3000 m above the surface, below a melting layer. It is found that the altitude of the maximum number of raindrops was closely related to the surface rain rate. The maximum number of large drops was observed at lower altitudes earlier in the precipitation event but at higher altitudes in later periods, suggesting decreases in the numbers of large and medium size raindrops. These decreases may have been caused by the breakup of larger drops and evaporation of smaller drops as they fell. The number of medium size drops decreased with increasing altitude. The relationship between reflectivity and liquid water content during this precipitation event was Z = 1.69×104 M 1.5, and the relationship between reflectivity and rain intensity was Z = 256I 1.4.

Characteristics of the raindrop size distributions and their retrieved polarimetric radar parameters in northern and southern China

The characteristics of raindrop size distributions (RSDs) and polarimetric radar parameters retrieved by T-matrix for stratiform and convective precipitation in Beijing and Zhangbei (northern China), and Yangjiang (southern China) are studied and compared based on RSD data observed with PARSIVEL disdrometers in these three different climatic regions. The effects of observed and fitted RSD on scattering simulation are also discussed. The conclusions further confirm the obvious variation of RSDs in different climatic regions and rain types. There is significant regional difference in rainfall microphysical parameters for convective precipitation, and small regional difference for stratiform precipitation, instead. Convective precipitations from Beijing and Yangjiang both have higher mass-weighted mean diameter Dm and log10Nw (Nw: normalized intercept parameter) values than stratiform precipitations. The averaged RSDs from both rain types in Beijing and Yangjiang are in good agreement with gamma distribution while those in Zhangbei cannot be well fitted either by gamma or M–P (Marshall–Palmer) distribution. It is essential to take into account the effect of air density on raindrop fall velocity in highlands far away from sea level, such as Zhangbei. The μ–Λ relation varies with location. For a given Λ value, the fits to the data in the three regions have higher μ values than Florida relation (Zhang et al., 2003). It is robust to retrieve polarimetric radar parameters by T-matrix. There is an exponential relationship between differential reflectivity ZDR and radar reflectivity factor ZH, as well as the relation between specific differential phase KDP and ZH. The variation of the relations in different climate regions and rain types results from RSD's sensitivity to climatic regions and rain types. Observed RSD is superior to the fitted one in retrieving polarimetric radar parameters.

Raindrop axis ratios, fall velocities and size distribution over Sumatra from 2D-Video Disdrometer measurement

Raindrop axis ratio, falling velocity and size distribution are important in broad list of applications. However, they are not frequently observed in the equatorial region. This paper elucidated the characteristics of raindrop axis ratio, falling velocity and size distribution based on 2D-Video Disdrometer (2DVD) data that have been collected in the equatorial Indonesia, particularly at Kototabang (hereafter called KT), west Sumatra, Indonesia (0.20°S, 100.32°E, 864m above sea level). A comprehensive follow-up of the previous study on the natural variability of raindrop size distributions (DSDs) is presented. Precipitation was classified through 1.3-GHz wind profiler observation. The dependence of raindrop falling velocity and axis ratio on rainfall type was not clearly observed. Overall, measured raindrop fall velocities were in good agreement with Gunn–Kinzer's data. Raindrop axis ratio at KT was more spherical than that of artificial rain and equilibrium model, and close to the values reported in the turbulent high shear zone of surface layer which can be partially due to the effect of the instrument errors (e.g., location and container shape). Of some natural variations of DSD investigated, the dependence of DSD on rainfall rate and rainfall type as well as diurnal variation was clearly visible. A striking contrast between the stratiform and convective rains is that the size distributions from the stratiform (convective) rains tend to narrow (broaden) with increasing rainfall rates. For rainfall rate R<10mm/h, the size distribution of stratiform was broader than that of convective. On the other hand, at higher rainfall rate more large-sized drops were found in convective rain. During the convective rain, very large-sized drops were found mainly at the very start of rain event while for the stratiform they were found to be associated with a strong bright band. In diurnal basis, the DSDs in the morning hours were narrower than those in the evening which was indicated by smaller Dm values in the morning hours than their counterparts in the evening. Rainfall type dependence and diurnal variation of DSD lead to significant variation of Z–R relations so that they must be considered to increase the accuracy of Z–R conversion from weather radar in this region. Consistent with the previous study, lack of seasonal DSD variability was also found in this work that would be due to significant local convective and orographic effect at this region throughout the year. However, Dm values in our result were larger than the typical orographic DSD.

Application of piezoelectric transducers in simulated rainfall erosivity assessment

Rainfall simulators have often been used to mimic natural rainfall for studies of various land-surface and water interaction processes. The characteristics of the simulated rainfall are the main indicators used to judge the performance of the rainfall simulators. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of piezoelectric transducers for measuring and evaluating a dripper-type simulated rainfall drop-size distribution (DSD) and kinetic energy (KE). The directly measured KE was significantly correlated with the estimated KE using the drop-size distribution and empirical rain drop fall velocity relationships. This result emphasizes the potential use of the piezoelectric sensor to directly measure and evaluate rainfall kinetic energy. Also, the relationship between rainfall intensity and KE showed good patterns of agreement between simulated rainfall and natural rainfall. Citation Abd Elbasit, M. A. M., Yasuda, H. & Salmi, A. (2011) Application of piezoelectric transducers in simulated rainfall erosivity assessment. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(1), 187–194.

Distributions of Raindrop Sizes and Fall Velocities in a Semiarid Plateau Climate: Convective versus Stratiform Rains

AbstractJoint size and fall velocity distributions of raindrops were measured with a Particle Size and Velocity (PARSIVEL) precipitation particle disdrometer in a field experiment conducted during July and August 2007 at a semiarid continental site located in Guyuan, Ningxia Province, China (36°N, 106°16′E). Data from both stratiform and convective clouds are analyzed. Comparison of the observed raindrop size distributions shows that the increase of convective rain rates arises from the increases of both drop concentration and drop diameter while the increase of the rain rate in the stratiform clouds is mainly due to the increase of median and large drop concentration. Another striking contrast between the stratiform and convective rains is that the size distributions from the stratiform (convective) rains tend to narrow (broaden) with increasing rain rates. Statistical analysis of the distribution pattern shows that the observed size distributions from both rain types can be well described by the gamma distribution. Examination of the raindrop fall velocity reveals that the difference in air density leads to a systematic change in the drop fall velocity while organized air motions (updrafts and downdrafts), turbulence, drop breakup, and coalescence likely cause the large spread of drop fall velocity, along with additional systematic deviation from terminal velocity at certain raindrop diameters. Small (large) drops tend to have superterminal (subterminal) velocities statistically, with the positive deviation from the terminal velocity of small drops being much larger than the negative deviation of large drops.

Mathematical–Physical Framework for Retrieval of Rain DSD Properties from Dual-Frequency Ku–Ka-Band Satellite Radar

In developing the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a dual-frequency Ku–Ka-band radar system will be used to measure rainfall in such a fashion that the reflectivity ratio intrinsic to the measurement will be sensitive to underlying variations in the drop size distribution (DSD) of rain. This will enable improved techniques for retrieving rain rates, which are dependent upon several key properties of the DSD. This study examines this problem by considering a three-parameter set defined by liquid water content (W), DSD effective radius (re), and DSD effective variance (υe). Using radiative transfer simulations, this parameter set is shown to be related to a radar reflectivity factor and specific attenuation in such a fashion that details of the DSDs are immaterial under constant W, and thus effectively represent important variations in DSD that affect rain rate but with a minimal number of parameters. The analysis also examines the effectiveness of including some measure of mean Doppler fall velocity of raindrops (υ), given that the fundamental properties of a given precipitation situation are uniquely defined by a combination of a drop mass spectrum and drop vertical velocity spectrum. The results of this study have bearing on how future dual-frequency precipitation retrieval algorithms could be formulated to optimize the sensitivity to underlying DSD variability, a problem that has greatly upheld past progress in radar rain retrieval.

Measurements of raindrop breakup by using UHF wind profilers

A UHF wind profiler was used to measure a very interesting vertical profile of the raindrop size spectra in a convective rain which went over the profiler at Tsukuba, Japan. It can measure both the fall velocity of raindrops and the ambient air‐motion including the mean velocity and the turbulence, which enables to derive an accurate drop size distribution from the Doppler spectra. The measured Doppler spectra had significant altitude variations. It further was found that a considerable high number of giant raindrops larger than 6 mm in diameter appeared at an altitude of 3.25 km. These giant raindrops, however, almost disappeared at altitudes below 2.75 km, while an increase in the number of smaller raindrops of less than 1.5 mm in diameter was observed. These variations are interpreted to be due to breakup.

Rain properties controlling soil splash detachment

Laboratory experiments have been conducted to study the effects of various rain properties on sand detachment resulting from raindrop impact. Splash cups were exposed to simulated rainfall intensities ranging between 10 and 140 mm h−1. The detached sand was collected and weighed whereas rain intensity, equivalent drop diameter and fall velocity of raindrops were measured with an optical spectro-pluviometer (OSP). The properties of the simulated rain (i.e. median volume diameter and kinetic energy) were compared with those observed in natural conditions. Statistical analyses have been undertaken in order to evaluate which rain variable best predicts the mass of sand detached. Linear and non-linear correlations between the mass of detached sediment and the product of drop size (d) by drop velocity (v), i.e. DαVβ, with values of α varying between 1 and 6 and β between 0 and 3, have been computed. The results indicate that the coefficient of determination (R2) for α ranging between 3 and 5 and β lower or equal to 2 are satisfying. Although kinetic energy (D3V2) described splash detachment relatively well, the product of momentum by drop diameter (D4V) was slightly superior in describing splash detachment. Therefore, the momentum multiplied by the drop diameter is recommended as the best rain variable to describe splash detachment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Is Virga Rain That Evaporates before Reaching the Ground?

Abstract The visual phenomenon called virga, a sudden change in the brightness of a precipitation shaft below a cloud, is commonly attributed to evaporation of raindrops. It is said to be rain that does not reach the ground. The optical thickness of an evaporating rain shaft, however, decreases gradually from cloud base to ground. Thus, it is more likely that virga results from snowflakes melting in descent. Horizontal optical-thickness decreases of more than ten can occur in the short distance over which a snowflake is transformed into a raindrop. This decrease is caused by two factors: a smaller number density of hydrometeors because of the greater fall velocity of raindrops than of equivolume snowflakes, and a smaller scattering cross section: the first of these is dominant. An alternative explanation of virga is that it is precipitation that has not yet reached (rather than does not reach) the ground. This is a plausible explanation given the long time periods it may take hydrometeors, especially snow...

Impact of Two Microphysical Schemes upon Gas Scavenging and Deposition in a Mesoscale Meteorological Model

Abstract Two widely used microphysical schemes are compared to evaluate their possible impact on wet deposition mechanisms. They are based upon different spectral distributions for raindrops (Marshall-Palmer and lognormal distributions) and use different formulations for the autoconversion and evaporation process, as well as for the fall velocity of raindrops. A comparative study of these two schemes is carried out for a two-dimensional mountain wave simulation in a mesoscale meteorological model. Differences in the spatial and temporal evolution of microphysical fields are investigated. The two schemes are compared for simple chemical scenarios: gas dissolution in cloud and rain, gas scavenging by raindrops, and wet deposition. Results contrast the differing behavior of the two schemes in describing processes such as the direct scavenging of gases by raindrops and the release of chemical species back into the atmosphere because of below-cloud evaporation of rain.

Determination of Rain Intensity from Doppler Spectra of Vertically Scanning Radar

A new method is given to determine the rain intensity from data collected by a vertically scanning Doppler radar. The method is based an relating a theoretical velocity spectrum derived from a gamma drop size distribution to the measured Doppler spectra. A considerable reduction in calculation time is obtained by characterizing a Doppler spectrum by its total reflectivity and three velocities, and relating these parameters directly to the rain intensity, vertical air velocity and drop size distribution parameters. The method is verified with observations of a high-resolution radar. A good agreement with the resulting rain intensity is found when large raindrops are present, but the accuracy of the method appears to reduce sharply in the absence of large raindrops. The Doppler spectrum shows a sudden decrease in reflectivity near the maximum fall velocity of raindrops when enough large drops are present. Without km drops, the Doppler spectrum appears hardly sensitive to the mean drop size, and any method that is based on an interpretation of the shape of the Doppler spectrum should be restricted to situations with large raindrops to produce accurate results.