An Aero-Structural Model for Ram-Air Kite Simulations

Similar to parafoils, ram-air kites are flexible membrane wings inflated by the apparent wind and supported by a bridle line system. A major challenge in estimating the performance of these wings using a computer model is the strong coupling between the airflow around the wing and the deformation of the membrane structure. In this paper, we...

Ram-air kite airfoil and reinforcements optimization for airborne wind energy applications

We present a multidisciplinary design optimization method for the profile and structural reinforcement layout of a ram‐air kite rib. The aim is to minimize the structural elastic energy and to maximize the traction power of a ram‐air kite used for airborne wind energy generation. Because of the large deformations occurring during flight, a fluid...

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...