Unsteady Aerodynamics of a Pumping Kite Following a Helical Path: Estimation of The Mechanical Power

MANUEL VALDANO; BRUNO A. ROCCIA; LUIS R. CEBALLOS; SERGIO PREIDIKMAN; DEAN T. MOOK

Río Cuarto, Provincia de Córdoba

Congreso; VII MACI 2019 - VII Congreso de Matemática Aplicada, Computacional e Industrial; 2019

Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto/ Asociación Argentina de Matemática Aplicada, Computacional e Industrial

A numerical simulation tool is developed that is well-suited for modelling the unsteady and non-linear aerodynamics of airborne wind energy systems (AWESs). The numerical framework consists of: i) an aerodynamic model that is an extension of the widely used three-dimensional (3D) general unsteady vortex-lattice method (UVLM), combined with ii) a kinematic model developed previously by the authors of this work, which is capable of simulating helical trajectories like those described by AWESs-like pumping kites. The present tool was successfully used to estimate the mechanical power, only during the traction phase, of a AWES following a helical path. The numerical results obtained here were compared with data available in the literature, obtaining encouraging results that justify the methodology used and suggests the strong likelihood that the UVLM could be a very accurate and efficient tool for future studies on the aerodynamics of AWESs.