Robust Automatic Pumping Cycle Operation of Airborne Wind Energy Systems

Airborne wind energy (AWE) is a novel technology that aims at accessing wind resources at higher altitudes which cannot be reached with conventional wind turbines. This technological challenge is accomplished using tethered aircraft or kites in combination with either onboard or ground-based generators. In the former case, the kinetic energy of...

Combined Airborne Wind and Photovoltaic Energy System for Martian Habitats

Generating renewable energy on Mars is technologically challenging. Firstly, because, compared to Earth, key energy resources such as solar and wind are weak as a result of very low atmospheric pressure and low solar irradiation. Secondly, because of the harsh environmental conditions, the required high degree of automation, and the exceptional...

8th international Airborne Wind Energy Conference (AWEC 2019): Book of Abstracts

Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) is an emerging renewable energy technology that aims to replace the use of fossil fuels for energy production on an economical basis. A characteristic feature of the various AWE concepts is the use of tethered flying devices to access wind energy at higher altitudes where the wind is more consistent. Over the past...

Quasi-steady model of a pumping kite power system

The traction force of a kite can be used to drive a cyclic motion for extracting wind energy from the atmosphere. This paper presents a novel quasi-steady modelling framework for predicting the power generated over a full pumping cycle. The cycle is divided into traction, retraction and transition phases, each described by an individual set...

Welcome and Introduction to the Airborne Wind Energy Conference 2019

Steady-State Solver for a Ram-Air Kite Aeroelastic Model Based on Dynamic Relaxation

We present a computationally efficient steady-state solution method to model the aeroelastic deformation of a ram-air kite for airborne wind energy applications. The kite’s weight in comparison to the aerodynamic forces is small which justifies a quasi-steady analysis, neglecting gravitational and inertial force effects [1]. The approach is...

The International Airborne Wind Energy Conference 2015: Book of abstracts

Airborne wind energy is an emerging field in the renewable energy technologies that aims to replace the use of fossil fuels for energy production on an economical basis. A characteristic feature of the various concepts that are currently pursued is the use of tethered flying devices to access wind energy at higher altitudes where the wind is...

The Economic Potential of Kite Power

The fundamental working principle of kite power generation is straightforward: a fast-flying kite pulls a tether from a drum, which drives a generator. At the maximum reel-out length, the kite is de-powered and pulled back, to initiate a new pumping cycle. The objective of this innovative technology is to make electricity generation affordable,...

Efficiency of kite power systems in pumping operation

Seminar organized by Delft University Wind energy research institute for European Academy of Wind Energy