Development and benchmarking of a Particle System framework for structural modeling of soft-wing kites

The Airborne Wind Energy industry is evolving rapidly, aiming to establish its position among the major players in the conventional renewable energy sector. Since this industry is relatively young, it faces various challenges with scaling and integration into society. One aspect that can be improved is the design process of soft-wing kites. The...

In-flight measurement of kite deformations with inertial sensors

The control and design of kites for airborne wind energy requires an extensive understanding of kite dynamics. While these have been thoroughly analyzed with fluid-structure interaction models, very little experimental data exists to validate them. Specifically, most experiments on kites so far have not obtained local measurements that can be...