Wind Power via Fast Flying Kites: a Challenge for Optimization and Control

Author

• M. Diehl, B. Houska

Reference

• at - Automatisierungstechnik,
  Volume 57(10), pages: 525-533, 2009. (in German)

Abstract

This paper presents optimization studies for kites that generate wind energy by periodically pulling a generator on the ground while flying fast in a crosswind direction. We review the current state of the art in building and modelling such systems, and formulate an optimal control problem with periodic boundary conditions and free cycle duration. The objective function is the average power at the generator. We solve this nonlinear and unstable optimal control problem numerically with the direct multiple shooting method. The result of our optimization studies is that we can attain about 5 MW average power with a 500 m^2 - kite at 10 m/s wind speed. When two kites are connected to yield a “dancing kite pair”, the efficiency can be further increased by 40% per airfoil, due to the considerably reduced line drag.

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