Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems
<p>While some airborne wind energy system (AWES) companies aim at small, temporary or remote off-grid markets, others aim at utility-scale, multi-megawatt integration into the electricity grid. This study investigates the scaling effects of single-wing, ground-generation AWESs from small- to u...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Wind Energy Science |
| Online Access: | https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/7/1847/2022/wes-7-1847-2022.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818056826911981568 |
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| author | M. Sommerfeld M. Dörenkämper J. De Schutter C. Crawford |
| author_facet | M. Sommerfeld M. Dörenkämper J. De Schutter C. Crawford |
| author_sort | M. Sommerfeld |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>While some airborne wind energy system (AWES) companies aim at small, temporary or remote off-grid markets, others aim at utility-scale, multi-megawatt integration into the electricity grid. This study investigates the scaling effects of single-wing, ground-generation AWESs from small- to utility-scale systems, subject to realistic 10 min, onshore and offshore wind conditions derived from a numerical mesoscale Weather Research And Forecasting (WRF) model. To reduce computational cost, vertical wind velocity profiles are grouped into 10 clusters using <span class="inline-formula"><i>k</i></span>-means clustering. Three representative profiles from each cluster are implemented into a nonlinear AWES optimal control model to determine power-optimal trajectories. We compare the effects of three different aircraft masses and two sets of nonlinear aerodynamic coefficients for aircraft with wing areas ranging from 10 to 150 m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> on operating parameters and flight trajectories. We predict size- and mass-dependent AWES power curves, annual energy production (AEP) and capacity factors (cf) and compare them to a quasi-steady-state reference model. Instantaneous force, tether-reeling speed and power fluctuations as well as power losses associated with tether drag and system mass are quantified.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T12:35:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1fe12d2e9dfd435188392ac98bfc928f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2366-7443 2366-7451 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T12:35:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wind Energy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-1fe12d2e9dfd435188392ac98bfc928f2022-12-22T01:48:40ZengCopernicus PublicationsWind Energy Science2366-74432366-74512022-09-0171847186810.5194/wes-7-1847-2022Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systemsM. Sommerfeld0M. Dörenkämper1J. De Schutter2C. Crawford3Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, University of Victoria, British Columbia, CanadaFraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES), Oldenburg, GermanySystems Control and Optimization Laboratory IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, GermanyInstitute for Integrated Energy Systems, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada<p>While some airborne wind energy system (AWES) companies aim at small, temporary or remote off-grid markets, others aim at utility-scale, multi-megawatt integration into the electricity grid. This study investigates the scaling effects of single-wing, ground-generation AWESs from small- to utility-scale systems, subject to realistic 10 min, onshore and offshore wind conditions derived from a numerical mesoscale Weather Research And Forecasting (WRF) model. To reduce computational cost, vertical wind velocity profiles are grouped into 10 clusters using <span class="inline-formula"><i>k</i></span>-means clustering. Three representative profiles from each cluster are implemented into a nonlinear AWES optimal control model to determine power-optimal trajectories. We compare the effects of three different aircraft masses and two sets of nonlinear aerodynamic coefficients for aircraft with wing areas ranging from 10 to 150 m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span> on operating parameters and flight trajectories. We predict size- and mass-dependent AWES power curves, annual energy production (AEP) and capacity factors (cf) and compare them to a quasi-steady-state reference model. Instantaneous force, tether-reeling speed and power fluctuations as well as power losses associated with tether drag and system mass are quantified.</p>https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/7/1847/2022/wes-7-1847-2022.pdf |
| spellingShingle | M. Sommerfeld M. Dörenkämper J. De Schutter C. Crawford Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems Wind Energy Science |
| title | Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems |
| title_full | Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems |
| title_fullStr | Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems |
| title_short | Scaling effects of fixed-wing ground-generation airborne wind energy systems |
| title_sort | scaling effects of fixed wing ground generation airborne wind energy systems |
| url | https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/7/1847/2022/wes-7-1847-2022.pdf |
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