Control of Towing Kites for Seagoing Vessels

In this paper we present the basic features of the flight control of the SkySails towing kite system. After introduction of coordinate definitions and basic system dynamics we introduce a novel model used for controller design and justify its main dynamics with results from system identification based on numerous sea trials. We then present the controller design which we successfully use for operational flights for several years. Finally we explain the generation of dynamical flight patterns.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures; submitted to IEEE Trans. on Control Systems Technology; revision: Fig. 15 corrected, minor text change

On sensor fusion for airborne wind energy systems

A study on filtering aspects of airborne wind energy generators is presented. This class of renewable energy systems aims to convert the aerodynamic forces generated by tethered wings, flying in closed paths transverse to the wind flow, into electricity. The accurate reconstruction of the wing's position, velocity and heading is of fundamental importance for the automatic control of these kinds of systems. The difficulty of the estimation problem arises from the nonlinear dynamics, wide speed range, large accelerations and fast changes of direction that the wing experiences during operation. It is shown that the overall nonlinear system has a specific structure allowing its partitioning into sub-systems, hence leading to a series of simpler filtering problems. Different sensor setups are then considered, and the related sensor fusion algorithms are presented. The results of experimental tests carried out with a small-scale prototype and wings of different sizes are discussed. The designed filtering algorithms rely purely on kinematic laws, hence they are independent from features like wing area, aerodynamic efficiency, mass, etc. Therefore, the presented results are representative also of systems with larger size and different wing design, different number of tethers and/or rigid wings.Comment: This manuscript is a preprint of a paper accepted for publication on the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology and is subject to IEEE Copyright. The copy of record is available at IEEEXplore library: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org

Modeling, identification, estimation and adaptation for the control of power-generating kites

Large-scale kites, flying high-force crosswind trajectories, have been proposed for wind power generation. A two phase operational cycle generates net positive power using a ground-based motor/generator. In the traction phase the kite flies a high-force trajectory while reeling out the generator-connected tethers. A low-force retraction phase reels in the tethers and returns the kite to the start of the cycle. Highly variable conditions and significant uncertainty in the dynamics pose challenges to autonomous, well-controlled flight. The control task is divided into trajectory generation and tracking components and the most uncertain parameters in the model are identified online. The control structure uses these parameters in a robust framework resulting in an experimentally verified adaptive control scheme

Automatic crosswind flight of tethered wings for airborne wind energy: modeling, control design and experimental results

An approach to control tethered wings for airborne wind energy is proposed. A fixed length of the lines is considered, and the aim of the control system is to obtain figure-eight crosswind trajectories. The proposed technique is based on the notion of the wing's "velocity angle" and, in contrast with most existing approaches, it does not require a measurement of the wind speed or of the effective wind at the wing's location. Moreover, the proposed approach features few parameters, whose effects on the system's behavior are very intuitive, hence simplifying tuning procedures. A simplified model of the steering dynamics of the wing is derived from first-principle laws, compared with experimental data and used for the control design. The control algorithm is divided into a low-level loop for the velocity angle and a high-level guidance strategy to achieve the desired flight patterns. The robustness of the inner loop is verified analytically, and the overall control system is tested experimentally on a small-scale prototype, with varying wind conditions and using different wings.Comment: This manuscript is a preprint of a paper accepted for publication on the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology and is subject to IEEE Copyright. The copy of record is available at IEEEXplore library: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org

State Estimation for Kite Power Systems with Delayed Sensor Measurements

We present a novel estimation approach for airborne wind energy systems with ground-based control and energy generation. The estimator fuses measurements from an inertial measurement unit attached to a tethered wing and position measurements from a camera as well as line angle sensors in an unscented Kalman filter. We have developed a novel kinematic description for tethered wings to specifically address tether dynamics. The presented approach simultaneously estimates feedback variables for a flight controller as well as model parameters, such as a time-varying delay. We demonstrate the performance of the estimator for experimental flight data and compare it to a state-of-the-art estimator based on inertial measurements

Automatic Retraction and Full Cycle Operation for a Class of Airborne Wind Energy Generators

Airborne wind energy systems aim to harvest the power of winds blowing at altitudes higher than what conventional wind turbines reach. They employ a tethered flying structure, usually a wing, and exploit the aerodynamic lift to produce electrical power. In the case of ground-based systems, where the traction force on the tether is used to drive a generator on the ground, a two phase power cycle is carried out: one phase to produce power, where the tether is reeled out under high traction force, and a second phase where the tether is recoiled under minimal load. The problem of controlling a tethered wing in this second phase, the retraction phase, is addressed here, by proposing two possible control strategies. Theoretical analyses, numerical simulations, and experimental results are presented to show the performance of the two approaches. Finally, the experimental results of complete autonomous power generation cycles are reported and compared with first-principle models.Comment: This manuscript is a preprint of a paper submitted for possible publication on the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology and is subject to IEEE Copyright. If accepted, the copy of record will be available at IEEEXplore library: http://ieeexplore.ieee.or

Autonomous take-off and landing of a tethered aircraft: a simulation study

The problem of autonomous launch and landing of a tethered rigid aircraft for airborne wind energy generation is addressed. The system operates with ground-based power conversion and pumping cycles, where the tether is repeatedly reeled in and out of a winch installed on the ground and linked to an electric motor/generator. In order to accelerate the aircraft to take-off speed, the ground station is augmented with a linear motion system composed by a slide translating on rails and controlled by a second motor. An onboard propeller is used to sustain the forward velocity during the ascend of the aircraft. During landing, a slight tension on the line is kept, while the onboard control surfaces are used to align the aircraft with the rails and to land again on them. A model-based, decentralized control approach is proposed, capable to carry out a full cycle of launch, low-tension flight, and landing again on the rails. The derived controller is tested via numerical simulations with a realistic dynamical model of the system, in presence of different wind speeds and turbulence, and its performance in terms of landing accuracy is assessed. This study is part of a project aimed to experimentally verify the launch and landing approach on a small-scale prototype.Comment: This is the longer version of a paper submitted to the 2016 American Control Conference 2016, with more details on the simulation parameter