Analytical and experimental analysis of the capacity of steel wire ropes subjected to forced bending

Wire rope is used in numerous applications such as elevators, power lines, suspension bridges, ships and the mooring of offshore structures. In many of these applications wire rope needs to be bent. Currently the Norwegian certification instance Det Norske Veritas (DNV) prescribes a capacity reduction factor for bending wire rope. It is unclear...

Finite Element Analysis of Inflatable Structures Using Uniform Pressure: Inflatable beam validation and leading edge inflatable tube kite structural modeling in Madymo

Kite wings might be the future in sustainable electricity generation. Delft University of Technology developed a concept with a flexible Leading Edge Inflatable (LEI) kite to generate the energy, which can maneuver at higher altitudes where the power density is much higher and the wind velocity is much more consistent compared to operating...

Kitesailing: Improving system performance and safety

In the world of high performance sailing people are using state of the art technology to push the limits in speed and performance. The introduction of the sport kitesurfing has shown the power that kites can generate. It has meant a revolution in the world of surfing. Kitesurfing only exists since 15 years and began to expand around the world...

Modelling the Dynamics of an Arc-shaped Kite for Control Law Design: Design of a rigid body model for real-time simulation using a multi-body reference

Kiteplane Flight Dynamics: Stability and control analysis of tethered flight for power generation purposes

Kite power has only recently gained serious interest from industry and scientists, but the technology is advancing fast through various projects around the globe. The prospect of cheap wind energy is appealing to investors in the current political and social climate. One of the promising concepts is the Laddermill, which features a tether that...

Deformation and Aerodynamic Performance of a Ram-Air Wing

Ram-air wings form an ever increasing market of soft fabric, air inflated wings. They are primairily used in air sports such as parachuting, paragliding and kiting. Ram-air kites may also be used for electric power generation by letting the kite pull a cable from a drum that is connected to a generator. An example if this principle is the...