Studies for the Integration of a Light Optical Aerosol Counter in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Flying Wing): Tropospheric Environment Research Observatory (TERO Project)

The objective of this work is to integrate a Light Optical Aerosol Counter (LOAC-R) in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the quantification and classification of atmospheric aerosols, in the framework of the TERO project. The activities include the design of the system, the redistribution of the components and the integration of a commercial LOAC-R to a flying wing UAV RO350. Specifically, the aeronautical aspects of the adapted UAV were evaluated, a study of possible electrical interferences in the counter was carried out and its performance inside the vehicle was verified.The integration design showed no significant alterations of the aerodynamic features of the UAV. On the other hand, the tests on the LOAC-R’s sensor signal in several conditions, and the performance of the counter in the electromagnetic environment inside the vehicle, indicated that the proposed integration to an UAV with the chosen specifications, would not affect the quality of the measurements.These results suggest that the setup could be used in field measurements after complete assessment.