A constraint-free flight simulator package for airborne wind energy systems

G. Sánchez-Arriaga, A. Pastor-Rodriguez, R. Borobia-Moreno, R. Schmehl

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articleScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
114 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The LAgrangian Kite SimulAtor (LAKSA) is a freely available software for the dynamic analysis of tethered flying vehicles, such as kites and fixed-wing drones, applied to airborne wind energy generation. This software comprises four simulators. The one, two and four-line simulators, which consider flexible but inelastic tethers, are based on minimal coordinate Lagragian formulations and can be used for the analysis of fly and ground generation systems, kite-based traction systems, and kitesurfing applications, respectively. The configuration of the mechanical system in the fourth simulator can be defined by the user, who can select the number of flying vehicles and the properties of the elastic and flexible tethers linking them. In all the software tools, the kites or tethered fixed-wing drones are represented as rigid bodies and the dynamic equations of the tether-bridle-vehicle systems, together with the user-defined and time-dependent control variables, are solved self-consistently. Academic and research analysis can take advantage of the modularity of the simulators and their inputs and outputs interfaces, which follow a common and user-friendly architecture.

Original languageEnglish
Article number062018
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
Volume1037
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Jun 2018
EventTORQUE 2018: The Science of Making Torque from Wind - Milano, Italy
Duration: 20 Jun 201822 Jun 2018
http://www.torque2018.org/

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