Influence of geometric imperfections and increasing turbine sizes on validity load transfer functions in bolted ring-flange connections

The global focus on climate change and the transition away from fossil fuels has highlighted the importance of renewable energy sources. Offshore wind turbines are being optimized and are therefore growing in size and power. <br/><br/>This research focuses on bolted ring-flange connections, a connection type that plays a crucial role in the...

The turning of kites: A quantification of known theories

A method is introduced to measure the in flight flow field and geometric shape of an energy producing kite. The method is applied on beach tests during controlled flight maneuvers as well as equilibrium positions. The measurements of different sensors are validated by use of independent coherence of the found results. After this the deformations...

Kite power in a microgrid: Design and sizing of distributed energy resources for a microgrid solution based on kite power

Airborne Wind Energy is a promising technology that is becoming the point of interest for many applications. One market in which the AWE systems can open a path as a renewable distributed generator is in offgrid communities or camps. Nowadays, this market is dominated by fossil fuel energy like diesel generators. Even though the diesel is cheap,...

Optimization of offshore wind farm installation procedure with a targeted finish date

Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) installation procedure is a complicated phase requiring excellent management of resources for timely completion of tasks. The wind farm installation period involves crucial stages like streamlining onshore logistics, transportation of components on vessels, installation of foundations, wind turbines, and cable laying,...

Estimation of the Optimum Wind Turbine Size for two Different Offshore Sites and Wind Farm Rated Powers

Large turbines are a synonym of more energy harvested from the wind, but also of increment in the costs. This dilemma has led many researchers on the field of wind energy to wonder about the optimum size for wind turbines concerning the lowest cost of energy. This project studies the optimum turbine size for offshore applications through the...

Lidar and MCP in Wind Resource Estimations above Measurement-Mast Height

Modern multi-megawatt wind turbines are tall and may reach heights of 200 meter. Tall wind turbines require measurements above typical measurement mast height. As tall measurement masts are expensive and cumbersome to install, wind measurements at hub height are scarce. Currently, the use of lidars in wind measurement campaigns is increasing....

Design and Noise Study of a Low-Drag Wind Turbine for Airborne Power Applications: A Numerical and Experimental assesment

Improving the Wind Farm efficiency by simple means

Wake effects in wind farms are a major source of power production losses and fatigue loads on the rotors. It has been demonstrated that in large wind farms the only source of kinetic energy to balance that extracted by the turbines is the vertical transport of the free-stream flow kinetic energy from above the wind-turbine canopy. This chapter...

Layout Optimization of Offshore Wind Farms affected by Wake effects, Cable topology and Support Structure variation

As part of the effort to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy, this MSc Thesis deals with the layout optimization of an Offshore Wind Farm affected by wake effects, cable topology and support structure variation. The main objective of the current MSc Thesis is to investigate how important each of these aspects for the layout optimization is....

Design of a Simple Wake Model for the Wind Farm Layout Optimization Considering the Wake Meandering Effect

The design of the optimal layout of the wind farm is crucial to minimize the cost of energy produced by the wind farm. This requires an accurate wake model to simulate the wake effect on the annual energy yield of the wind farm. On the other hand, the wake model must be very simple in order to limit the duration of the layout optimisation...

The nonlinear effect of combining uncertainties on the energy yield of an offshore wind farm

Offshore wind energy is expected to grow in the coming years: future plans for offshore wind farms total more than 98 GW. Financing is needed to realise these plans. Investment decisions partly depend on the uncertainty in energy yield predictions. It is therefore important that these energy yield predictions and their corresponding uncertainty...

An Investigation of the Non-Linear 3D Flow Effects Relevant for Leading Edge Inflatable Kites

The kite power group at TU Delft is currently researching the use of leading edge inflatable (LEI) kites for use in power generation. A thorough understanding of the aeroelastics of these kites is paramount to the development of system simulation models and optimum kite and system designs. The current lack of understanding is therefore seen as a...

Dynamic Nonlinear Aeroelastic Behaviour of Flexible Wings in an Airflow

Since the beginning of the century the field of airborne wind energy has emerged to provide with new means of generating renewable energy. It's ability to access higher altitudes and it's relatively low material requirements with respect to conventional wind turbines, have inspired several research institutes and commercial parties to invest...

Global opportunities for airborne wind

It is the objective of this graduation research to determine the nations with the highest deployment opportunity for airborne wind energy (AWE) generation systems. Compared to conventional, ground based, wind energy systems, the flying structure of the airborne wind turbine substitutes the rotor blades and a tether substitutes the tower. These...

Theoretical Analysis of Mechanical Power Generation by Pumping Cycle Kite Power Systems

A tethered wing can be used in two different ways, to lift payload or to provide traction power. The latter is the basis of several innovative technical applications, such as kite-assisted ship propulsion and pumping-kite wind energy conversion. This thesis presents a theoretical analysis of traction power generation by a tethered wing. The...

Small Scale Fluid Power Transmission for the Delft Offshore Turbine

The Delft Offshore Turbine (DOT) project is a research project within the Delft University Wind Energy Research Institute (DUWIND). The main objective of the DOT research project is to make offshore wind energy a competitive energy source. One of the research lines in the DOT project is considering the centralization of electricity generation...

Up! How to Launch and Retrieve a Tethered Aircraft

The basic model of the principle of crosswind power as described by Miles M. Loyd in 1980 (Loyd, 1980), promises a high energy revenue from airborne wind energy. With a growing awareness of the need of sustainable energy resources and the current technological possibilities, different initiatives are undertaken to harvest the energy of wind at...