How to harness wind energy with traction kites

Abstract

Kite power is a novel way of producing wind energy. One possible implementation uses the traction force of a fast-flying kite to drive a stationary generator on the ground. This concept aims at reducing the cost of energy produced by conventional wind turbines. There are however several technical challenges to overcome to develop kite power technology on a large scale. One of them arises from the light weight and flexible nature of the inflatable kite. This yields a tight coupling between the kite’s aero- and structural-dynamics, which is particularly critical when launching and retrieving the system. Computer models capable of predicting these interactions are at an early stage of development. This paper presents the grounds of an ongoing research project, which aims at computationally modelling fluid–structure interactions for kite power systems .