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Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Selected Works

Kevin A. Adkins, PhD

2019

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Development Of A Meteorological Sensor Suite For Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurement Using A Small Multirotor Unmanned Aerial System, Kevin A. Adkins Jun 2019

Development Of A Meteorological Sensor Suite For Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurement Using A Small Multirotor Unmanned Aerial System, Kevin A. Adkins

Kevin A. Adkins, PhD

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are increasingly being used to conduct atmospheric research. Because of the dynamic nature and inhomogeneity of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the ability of instrumented sUAS to make on-demand 3-dimensional high-resolution spatial measurements of atmospheric parameters makes them particularly suited to ABL investigations. Both fixed-wing and multirotor unmanned aircraft (UA) have been used for ABL investigations. Most investigations to date have included in-situ measurement of scalar quantities such as temperature, pressure and humidity. When wind has been measured, a variety of strategies have been used. Two of the most popular techniques have been deducing wind …

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Urban Flow And Small Unmanned Aerial System Operations In The Built Environment, Kevin A. Adkins Feb 2019

Urban Flow And Small Unmanned Aerial System Operations In The Built Environment, Kevin A. Adkins

Kevin A. Adkins, PhD

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put forth a set of regulations (Part 107) that govern small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) operations. These regulations restrict unmanned aircraft (UA) from flying over people and their operation to within visual line of sight (VLOS). However, as new applications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are discovered, their capabilities improve, and regulations evolve, there is an increasing desire to undertake urban operations, such as urban air mobility, package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and surveillance. This built environment poses new weather hazards that include enhanced wind shear and turbulence. The smaller physical dimensions, lower mass and …

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Uas Flight Operations In Complex Terrain: Assessing The Agricultural Impact From Hurricane Maria In The Central Mountainous Region Of Puerto Rico, Kevin A. Adkins Dec 2018

Uas Flight Operations In Complex Terrain: Assessing The Agricultural Impact From Hurricane Maria In The Central Mountainous Region Of Puerto Rico, Kevin A. Adkins

Kevin A. Adkins, PhD

Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm causing major damage to infrastructure, agriculture and natural ecosystems, as well as the loss of many lives. Among the crops hardest hit was coffee, one of the most important crops in Puerto Rico. As a perennial system, coffee takes various production forms along a gradient from high shade/biodiversity coffee farms to low shade coffee monocultures and therefore offers an ideal means for the study of resistance and resilience of an agroecosystem to weather and climate disturbance. During the summer of 2018, 14 impacted farms across the production …

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