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Configuration optimization and global sensitivity analysis of <i>Ground-Gen</i> and <i>Fly-Gen</i> Airborne Wind Energy Systems
Full text linkThis paper presents an analysis and optimization of Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWESs), designed to maximize the Annual Energy Production (AEP) and, in the second part, the economic profit. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to perform the preliminary design of the main AWES sub-systems. A global sensitivity analysis is carried out to study how the design process, represented by the optimization problem, is influenced by aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. In particular, Ground-Gen and Fly-Gen AWESs are studied with a unified model to allow for a quantitative comparison. In the first part of the work, an ideal hybrid AWES design with ground and on-board power generation is considered. With this approach, the common characteristics of Ground-Gen and Fly-Gen AWES designs that maximize AEP are found. In the second part, Ground-Gen and Fly-Gen AWES optimal economic designs are analyzed individually. It is found that a fully developed AWES has strong potential to be highly competitive in the energy market, by providing cheap renewable energy. Fly-Gen AWESs are found to be slightly more profitable than Ground-Gen if the airborne unit is not replaced often. The main physical and economical characteristics of optimal designs are highlighted
Investigation of the Effect of Modeling Different Degrees of Detail in the Key Elements in a Crosswind Kite Wind Energy System
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Preliminary Investigation on AWES Structural Loads Due to Turbulence and Significant Transient Wind Events
No full textAirborne Wind Energy Systems for Mars Habitats
No full textUsing renewable energy to power a Mars habitat is a technological challenge because resources such as solar and wind are significantly weaker than on Earth. This work investigates the feasibility of using airborne wind energy (AWE) systems in combination with solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to power a Mars habitat. The Luchsinger model and the higher fidelity QSM are used to simulate the performance of the AWE system and compared. This thesis builds upon two earlier design synthesis exercise (DSE) projects by implementing a version of the quasi-steady model (QSM) that accounts for the transition phase, models a realistic retraction trajectory, and accounts for the mass of the airborne components. Additionally, the results of the first DSE indicate that the Luchsinger model used did not appear to consume any energy during the reel-in phase, which is not realistic and led to an over-prediction of mean cycle power. However, this thesis aims to implement the Luchsinger model correctly. Creating a road map for sizing AWE kite systems on Mars is the main objective of this thesis. Since the performance of the AWE system is varying in time and space, the Mars Climate Database (MCD) is used to retrieve atmospheric and surface solar flux data including wind Weibull probability distribution functions (PDF). The second DSE used the MCD and validated the results against wind data from various Mars landers. The MCD is based on numerical simulations of the Martian atmosphere using a general circulation model and validated with available observational data. Seasonal vertical wind profiles are generated from the meteorological data to characterise the boundary layer over time. A scaling study assesses how AWE on Mars differs from that on Earth, performing dimensional analysis. In the system characteristics chapter, the initial sizing of the kite area and mass is computed using the scaling study. The performance models create the power curves, which together with the wind PDFs and surface solar flux data are used in the habitat energy model to verify whether the power requirements are met. Due to an insufficient amount of quantitative information on the energy consumption of the robotic construction of the habitat, the design of the microgrid is covering only the use of the habitat, which is 10 kW of continuous power. This is similar to remote off-grid solutions on Earth, with the additional challenge of having lower resource availability, both for wind and solar. This thesis concludes that various configurations of a hybrid power plant can continuously provide 10 kW of power throughout the entire Martian year. Moreover, the results indicate that using kites alone could generate sufficient power for the habitat without using solar PV.Rhizome project: http://www.roboticbuilding.eu/project/rhizome-development-of-an-autarkic-design-to-robotic-production-and-operation-system-for-building-off-earth-habitats/ Published poster on thesis for Airborne Wind Energy Conference in Milano, Italy,: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A4013ca0b-5508-4413-b8cb-5251ca1e7781 Video made to illustrate how Mars flight would look like.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS20vHhqgKk&ab_channel=AirborneWindEnergyOnlineRhizomeEuropean Wind Energy Masters (EWEM
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