Shadow Camera Research Articles

Experimental and simulation study on the combustion characteristics of ammonia/n-dodecane mixtures

Laminar burning velocity is a crucial characterization parameter in fuel combustion progress. Investigating the combustion properties is significant to improve combustion efficiency. This paper employs a constant volume combustion bomb and high-speed ripple shadow camera technology to explore the influence of equivalence ratios (0.8–1.4) and ammonia energy shares (0%–40%) on the laminar burning velocity of n-dodecane/ammonia mixture at an ambient temperature of 400 K and a pressure of 1 bar. The results illuminated that the unstretched laminar burning velocity of n-dodecane increased from 46 cm/s at ϕ = 0.8 to 61 cm/s at ϕ = 1 and then decreased to 32 cm/s at ϕ = 1.4. When the ammonia energy ratio reaches 40%, the maximum laminar burning velocity experiences a reduction of 44% because the blended ammonia inhibited the formation of H and O radicals based on kinetic analysis in the fast reaction zone. With the increase of ammonia ratio, the Markstein length of mixed burned gas gradually increases. Particularly under a 1.4 equivalent ratio condition, the Markstein length increases from 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm, indicating that ammonia components significantly enhance flame stability. To gain a deeper understanding of the influence mechanisms of laminar burning velocity, a simplified Yao-Otomo (Y-O) model with 92 species and 355 reactions is proposed, coupling the mechanisms of n-dodecane and ammonia. The Y-O model has demonstrated a predictive trend that is consistent with more detailed WUT-NH3 model (176 species and 2839 reactions), and the Y-O model reduces the amount of computation to save calculation time, which has a higher engineering applicability. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) induced by premixed fuel in engine cylinders is estimated through comprehensively analyzing the laminar burning velocity and flame thickness characteristics. The findings indicate a 45% reduction in the peak value of TKE as the ammonia energy ratio increases.

Optimization of parabolic trough power plant operations in variable irradiance conditions using all sky imagers

The continuously growing penetration of intermittent electricity sources will increase the future demand for dispatchable power plants, which balance out fluctuations within the electrical grids. Parabolic trough power plants with thermal energy storages could be one renewable solution for regions with a high yearly direct normal irradiance (DNI) sum, but in order to compete against other renewable as well as non-renewable technologies, the economic competitiveness must be ensured. Price reductions can be achieved for example by optimizing the plant operation. One shortcoming of state of the art plant controllers is that they only use the DNI measured at one or a few positions in the solar field. Due to the spatial variability of the DNI throughout the solar field this DNI information can be misleading.In this paper, we investigate the optimization potential of solar field control strategies with access to spatially resolved DNI information from all sky imagers (ASI). Uncertainties of the ASI system are considered by introducing additional independent spatial DNI information from a shadow camera system. The spatial and temporal DNI variability of the DNI seen by the controller is classified in distinct DNI variability classes. Two new control strategies are developed, with optimized control parameters for distinct combinations of the spatial and temporal DNI variability classes.These new variability class dependent control strategies are benchmarked in a simulation environment. A relative increase in revenue in excess of 1.9% is observed over a test period with 22 days, compared to a state of the art reference controller.

Shadow-camera based solar nowcasting system for shortest-term forecasts

The rapid growth of solar power generation and the variable nature of the solar resource pose challenges for our electricity grids. Forecasting future changes in the irradiance might help to cost-efficiently manage this variability both for photovoltaic and concentration solar plants as well as grids with high solar penetrations. So far, for shortest-term forecasts with lead times of a few minutes, all-sky imager based nowcasting systems are used. However, due to the complexity of dynamically changing 3d cloud shapes as well as certain geometrical effects such as self-occlusion or near-horizon saturation, all-sky imager based nowcasting systems exhibit inherent weaknesses. Here, we present a novel system to generate shortest-term solar forecasts, which is located at Plataforma Solar de Almeria in southern Spain. This approach is based on downward-facing cameras (shadow cameras), taking images of the ground. From these images, spatially resolved irradiance maps are derived. By tracking cloud shadows, future irradiances are predicted. A demonstration system is achieved, which provides shortest-term forecasts for the next 2min. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such a system is developed. We benchmark several possible algorithmic approaches on 16 days and compare the deviations to a state-of-the-art all-sky imager based nowcasting system on 22 days. The root-mean-squared deviation (RMSD) of this shadow camera based nowcasting system for direct normal irradiance (DNI) and 1-min temporal averages is 15.6% for lead times of 2min (MAD, DNI: 9.6 %). In comparison to an all-sky imager system, this is an improvement as the all-sky imager system only reaches 22.0% RMSD and 14.8% MAD (both DNI). This demonstrates the feasibility and attractiveness in terms of accuracy of the proposed concept.

Error Analysis of Shadow Camera for Measuring Motion Attitude of Large Caliber Projectile

The measurement principle and working process are studied. The motion fuzzy value of measurement system, synchronization error of flash system, Camera distortion error and image feature point extraction error are analyzed. The coordinate measurement error of the measurement system characteristic point is synthesized. On this basis, the attitude measurement error of the measurement system is calculated according to the definition of attitude angle and the error transfer mechanism, and the calculation results show that the error of attitude measurement of projectile is less than 0.8’. The process of error analysis shows that the camera distortion error and feature extraction error are the main errors among many error factors affecting the measurement accuracy.

Cloud height and tracking accuracy of three all sky imager systems for individual clouds

Solar irradiance nowcasts can be derived with sky images from all sky imagers (ASI) by detecting and analyzing transient clouds, which are the main contributor of intra-hour solar irradiance variability. The accuracy of ASI based solar irradiance nowcasting systems depends on various processing steps. Two vital steps are the cloud height detection and cloud tracking. This task is challenging, due to the atmospheric conditions that are often complex, including various cloud layers moving in different directions simultaneously.This challenge is addressed by detecting and tracking individual clouds. For this, we developed two distinct ASI nowcasting approaches with four or two cameras and a third hybridized approach. These three systems create individual 3-D cloud models with unique attributes including height, position, size, optical properties and motion. This enables us to describe complex multi-layer conditions.In this paper, derived cloud height and motion vectors are compared with a reference ceilometer (height) and shadow camera system (motion) over a 30 day validation period. The validation data set includes a wide range of cloud heights, cloud motion patterns and atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, limitations of ASI based nowcasting systems due to image resolution and image perspective constrains are discussed.The most promising system is found to be the hybridized approach. This approach uses four ASIs and a voxel carving based cloud modeling combined with a cloud segmentation independent stereoscopic cloud height and tracking detection. We observed for this approach an overall mean absolute error of 648 m for the height, 1.3 m/s for the cloud speed and 16.2° for the motion direction.

Field validation and benchmarking of a cloud shadow speed sensor

With ramp rate regulations for photovoltaic plants being discussed in many countries, the speed of clouds has gained significant importance lately. Besides, measuring cloud velocities and directions is of interest for validations of numerical weather predictions and solar nowcasting systems. Recently, the Cloud Shadow Speed Sensor (CSS) was developed and validated in San Diego for low cumulus clouds. In this publication, the CSS is studied under different weather and cloud conditions in the desert of Tabernas in southern Spain. Furthermore, a novel shadow camera based low-cost, low-maintenance approach to determine cloud shadow motion vectors is presented and used as a reference to benchmark the CSS. In comparison, the absolute velocities derived from the CSS and the shadow camera on 59 days for ±5 min temporal medians show deviations of RMSD 2.1 m/s (28.0%), MAD 1.2 m/s (15.7%) and a bias of −0.2 m/s (2.8%). Deviations of the cloud shadow direction are RMSD 47.9° (26.6%), MAD 25.3° (14.0%) and bias 3.7° (2.0%). An adaption of the CSS software yields 91% more measurements on 59 days in comparison to the previously used algorithms at the expense of reduced accuracies, both for the measured velocities and for the measured directions.The CSS and the novel shadow camera based reference system enable long-time, low-maintenance ground measurements of cloud shadow speeds, which were previously not available. The distinct advantages and limitations of the two systems are discussed. In addition to the comparisons between the shadow camera system and the CSS on 59 days, the detection rates of the CSS are classified and measured on 223 days by analyzing CSS radiometer signals. Depending on the shading strength and shading durations, detection rates vary between 3.7% and 21.6%. Furthermore, the basic assumption as well as possible correction approaches of the linear cloud edge – curve fitting method are studied.The CSS was found to be a robust tool with great potential. However, optically thin clouds with diffuse edges pose a challenge and the detection rate leaves room for improvements. The newly developed shadow camera system provides more measurements which scatter less but needs certain geographical requirements. The shadow camera is found to be a feasible validation tool for cloud (shadow) motion vectors.

Benchmarking three low-cost, low-maintenance cloud height measurement systems and ECMWF cloud heights against a ceilometer

Cloud height information is crucial for various applications. This includes solar nowcasting systems. Multiple methods to obtain the altitudes of clouds are available. In this paper, cloud base heights derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and three low-cost and low-maintenance ground based systems are presented and compared against ceilometer measurements on 59 days with variable cloud conditions in southern Spain. All three ground based systems derive cloud speeds in absolute units of [m/s] from which cloud heights are determined using angular cloud speeds derived from an all-sky imager. The cloud speed in [m/s] is obtained from (1) a cloud shadow speed sensor (CSS), (2) a shadow camera (SC) or (3) derived from two all-sky imagers.Compared to 10-min median ceilometer measurements for cloud heights below 5000 m, the CSS-based system shows root-mean squared deviations (RMSD) of 996 m (45%), mean absolute deviations (MAD) of 626 m (29%) and a bias of −142 m (−6%). The SC-based system has an RMSD of 1193 m (54%), a MAD of 593 m (27%) and a bias of 238 m (11%). The two all-sky imagers based system show deviations of RMSD 826 m (38%), MAD of 432 m (20%) and a bias of 202 m (9%). The ECMWF derived cloud heights deviate from the ceilometer measurements with an RMSD 1206 m (55%), MAD of 814 m (37%) and a bias of −533 m (−24%).Due to the multi-layer nature of clouds and systematic differences between the considered approaches, benchmarking cloud heights is an extremely difficult task. The limitations of such comparisons are discussed.This study aims at determining the best approach to derive cloud heights for camera based solar nowcasting systems. The approach based on two all-sky imagers is found to be the most promising, having the overall best accuracy and the most obtained measurements.

Applications of a shadow camera system for energy meteorology

Abstract. Downward-facing shadow cameras might play a major role in future energy meteorology. Shadow cameras directly image shadows on the ground from an elevated position. They are used to validate other systems (e.g. all-sky imager based nowcasting systems, cloud speed sensors or satellite forecasts) and can potentially provide short term forecasts for solar power plants. Such forecasts are needed for electricity grids with high penetrations of renewable energy and can help to optimize plant operations. In this publication, two key applications of shadow cameras are briefly presented.

History and trends in solar irradiance and PV power forecasting: A preliminary assessment and review using text mining

Text mining is an emerging topic that advances the review of academic literature. This paper presents a preliminary study on how to review solar irradiance and photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting (both topics combined as “solar forecasting” for short) using text mining, which serves as the first part of a forthcoming series of text mining applications in solar forecasting. This study contains three main contributions: (1) establishing the technological infrastructure (authors, journals & conferences, publications, and organizations) of solar forecasting via the top 1000 papers returned by a Google Scholar search; (2) consolidating the frequently-used abbreviations in solar forecasting by mining the full texts of 249 ScienceDirect publications; and (3) identifying key innovations in recent advances in solar forecasting (e.g., shadow camera, forecast reconciliation). As most of the steps involved in the above analysis are automated via an application programming interface, the presented method can be transferred to other solar engineering topics, or any other scientific domain, by means of changing the search word. The authors acknowledge that text mining, at its present stage, serves as a complement to, but not a replacement of, conventional review papers.

Shadow camera system for the generation of solar irradiance maps

Highly spatially and temporally resolved solar irradiance maps are of special interest for predicting ramp rates and for optimizing operations in solar power plants. Irradiance maps with lead times between 0 and up to 30 min can be generated using all-sky imager based nowcasting systems or with shadow camera systems. Shadow cameras provide photos of the ground taken from an elevated position below the clouds. In this publication, we present a shadow camera system, which provides spatially resolved Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) and Global Tilted Irradiance (GTI) maps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a shadow camera system is achieved. Its generated irradiance maps have two purposes: (1) The shadow camera system is already used to derive spatial averages to benchmark all-sky imager based nowcasting systems. (2) Shadow camera systems can potentially provide spatial irradiance maps for plant operations and may act as nowcasting systems. The presented shadow camera system consists of six cameras taking photos from the top of an 87 m tower and is located at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria in southern Spain. Out of six photos, an ortho-normalized image (orthoimage) is calculated. The orthoimage under evaluation is compared with two reference orthoimages. Out of the three orthoimages and one additional pyranometer and pyrheliometer, spatially resolved irradiance maps (DNI, GHI, GTI) are derived. In contrast to satellites, the shadow camera system uses shadows to obtain irradiance maps and achieves higher spatial and temporal resolutions. he preliminary validation of the shadow camera system, conducted in detail on two example days (2015-09-18, 2015-09-19) with 911 one-minute averages, shows deviations between 4.2% and 16.7% root mean squared errors (RMSE), 1.6% and 7.5% mean absolute errors (MAE) and standard deviations between 4.2% and 15.4% for DNI maps calculated with the derived approach. The GHI maps show deviations below 10% RMSE, between 2.1% and 7.1% MAE and standard deviations between 3.2% and 7.9%. Three more days (2016-05-11, 2016-09-01, 2016-12-09) are evaluated, briefly presented and show similar deviations. These deviations are similar or below all-sky imager based nowcasts for lead time zero minutes. The deviations are small for photometrically uncalibrated, low-cost and off-the-shelf surveillance cameras, which is achieved by a segmentation approach.

Beyond perspective dual photography with illumination masks.

Scene appearance from the point of view of a light source is called a reciprocal or dual view. Since there exists a large diversity in illumination, these virtual views may be nonperspective and multiviewpoint in nature. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of occluding masks to recover these dual views, which we term shadow cameras. We first show how to render a single reciprocal scene view by swapping the camera and light source positions. We then extend this technique for multiple views by both building a virtual shadow camera array and by exploiting area sources. We also capture nonperspective views such as orthographic, cross-slit and a pushbroom variant, while introducing novel applications such as converting between camera projections and removing refractive and catadioptric distortions. Finally, since a shadow camera is artificial, we can manipulate any of its intrinsic parameters, such as camera skew, to create perspective distortions. We demonstrate a variety of indoor and outdoor results and show a rendering application for capturing the light-field of a light-source.

A proton shadow camera using CR-39 track detectors

We have developed a capability for imaging proton sources of moderate energy (6 MeV), with moderate spatial resolution (≅ 9 μm), as a diagnostic for laser fusion research. Our technique involves the use of Fresnel zone plate coded imaging coupled with nuclear track detectors (CR-39). We report on a series of test experiments in which a zone plate shadow camera successfully produced images of a proton source distribution. The zone plate shadow patterns were optically reconstructed in higher order producing diffraction-limited point response images with FWHM values of ≅ 9 μm for a 6 MeV proton source.

A zone plate shadow camera for 100 keV x rays and 6 MeV protons

We have fabricated and tested a zone plate coded imaging camera for use with high energy x rays and charged particles. The camera system has demonstrated a higher order resolution capability of 4 μm with 100 keV x rays and 9 μm with 6 MeV protons. The unique components of this zone plate shadow camera are its thick zone plate coded aperture and recording medium for protons. The coded aperture is a free‐standing, 75 μm thick, gold micro‐Fresnel zone plate with 30 μm minimum zone width. It was fabricated by extending reactive ion etching and gold microplating techniques to ‘‘thick’’ structures. The proton recording medium is CR‐39, a polycarbonate plastic, which serves as a high resolution nuclear track detector highly sensitive to protons.