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Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy
Airborne wind energy is a field of technology being developed to make use of the vast, renewable wind power resource which is above the reach of traditional wind turbines, without the need for a large tower. Much analytical research has been undertaken in recent years to better understand the proble...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Electrical Engineering
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613183478333440 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Milandri, Matteo |
| author2 | Ginsberg, Samuel |
| author_browse | Ginsberg, Samuel Milandri, Matteo |
| author_facet | Ginsberg, Samuel Milandri, Matteo |
| author_sort | Milandri, Matteo |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Airborne wind energy is a field of technology being developed to make use of the vast, renewable wind power resource which is above the reach of traditional wind turbines, without the need for a large tower. Much analytical research has been undertaken in recent years to better understand the problem space. However, there are relatively few working systems that demonstrate their functioning and can be compared with simulations and theory. Off-grid power systems still rely heavily on diesel generators, so devices that tap renewable energy sources with similar ease of deployment and lower cost of energy would help this sector to reduce its reliance on expensive, polluting, fossil fuels. The development of these systems is often performed by teams with business interests leaving little open access content available regarding the design process of such devices or the data that they provide. A kite control pod has been designed for the remote control of a standard kitesurfing kite and a prototype has been demonstrated stably flying such a kite on a fixed length tether. This pod and kite would be tethered to a winch and as the kite flies across the wind, the lift force generated is applied to the winch which is reeled out and electrical power generated. Once fully extended, the tether would be reeled in with the kite de-powered, using some of the generated energy, stored in a battery. This system can then be used as a test bed for the further development of a compact, autonomous, airborne wind energy system for off-grid applications. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13730 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:06.010Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Electrical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Electrical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13730 Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy Milandri, Matteo Ginsberg, Samuel De Vries, Ian Electrical Engineering Airborne wind energy is a field of technology being developed to make use of the vast, renewable wind power resource which is above the reach of traditional wind turbines, without the need for a large tower. Much analytical research has been undertaken in recent years to better understand the problem space. However, there are relatively few working systems that demonstrate their functioning and can be compared with simulations and theory. Off-grid power systems still rely heavily on diesel generators, so devices that tap renewable energy sources with similar ease of deployment and lower cost of energy would help this sector to reduce its reliance on expensive, polluting, fossil fuels. The development of these systems is often performed by teams with business interests leaving little open access content available regarding the design process of such devices or the data that they provide. A kite control pod has been designed for the remote control of a standard kitesurfing kite and a prototype has been demonstrated stably flying such a kite on a fixed length tether. This pod and kite would be tethered to a winch and as the kite flies across the wind, the lift force generated is applied to the winch which is reeled out and electrical power generated. Once fully extended, the tether would be reeled in with the kite de-powered, using some of the generated energy, stored in a battery. This system can then be used as a test bed for the further development of a compact, autonomous, airborne wind energy system for off-grid applications. 2015-08-14T14:27:11Z 2015-08-14T14:27:11Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MSc (Eng) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13730 eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Electrical Engineering Milandri, Matteo Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| title_full | Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| title_fullStr | Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| title_short | Design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| title_sort | design of a kite controller for airborne wind energy |
| topic | Electrical Engineering |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13730 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT milandrimatteo designofakitecontrollerforairbornewindenergy |