A Fixed-Wing UAV Formation Algorithm Based on Vector Field Guidance

The vector field method was originally proposed to guide a single fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) towards a desired path. In this work, a non-uniform vector field method is proposed that changes in both magnitude and direction, for the purpose of achieving formations of UAVs. As compared to related work in the literature, the...

The Proportional Integral Notch and Coleman Blade Effective Wind Speed Estimators and Their Similarities

The estimation of the rotor effective wind speed is used in modern wind turbines to provide advanced power and load control capabilities. However, with the ever increasing rotor sizes, the wind field over the rotor surface shows a higher degree of spatial variation. A single effective wind speed estimation therefore limits the attainable...

Distributed Demand Side Management With Stochastic Wind Power Forecasting

In this article, we propose a distributed demand-side management (DSM) approach for smart grids taking into account uncertainty in wind power forecasting. The smart grid model comprehends traditional users as well as active users (prosumers). Through a rolling-horizon approach, prosumers participate in a DSM program, aiming at minimizing...

The Immersion and Invariance Wind Speed Estimator Revisited and New Results

The Immersion and Invariance (II) wind speed estimator is a powerful and widely-used technique to estimate the rotor effective wind speed on horizontal axis wind turbines. Anyway, its global convergence proof is rather cumbersome, which hinders the extension of the method and proof to time-delayed and/or uncertain systems. In this letter, we...

A Switching Thrust Tracking Controller for Load Constrained Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are prone to structural degradation, particularly in offshore locations. Based on the structural health condition of the tower, power de-rating strategies can be used to reduce structural loads at the cost of power losses. This paper introduces a novel closed-loop switching control architecture to constrain the thrust in individual...

Hermes - Wind Energy Harvesting Wireless System for Sensing AoA and Wind Speed

In this letter, we present Hermes - a novel, low-cost, wireless, batteryless, energy harvesting system for aerial vehicles for sensing wind speed and Angle of Attack (AoA) concurrently. Hermes comprises a set of piezoelectric films which flutter due to incoming wind and the characteristics of this aeroelastic flutter are utilized for...

Estimatic

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has 5 runways, each of which can be used for take-off or landing of aeroplanes. The weather heavily influences which runway configuration air traffic control might pick. Airport Forecasting Service (AFOS) predicts which configuration of runways works most efficiently given a set of expected weather conditions and the...

Comparative Performance Analysis of Different Wind Fields in the Southern and North-western Coastal Areas of the Black Sea

This study determines the qualities of atmospheric wind field data in comparison with wind measurements at five locations along the Black Sea coast. For this purpose, four different wind fields were obtained from three different weather centers (NCEP, NASA, and ECMWF). Three of these are reanalyzed winds (Climate Forecast System Reanalysis...