Abstract
Designing new large kite wings requires engineering tools that can account for flow-structure interaction. Although a fully coupled simulation of deformable membrane structures under aerodynamic load is already possible using Finite Element and Computational Fluid Dynamics methods this approach is computationally demanding. The core idea of the present study is to approximate a leading edge inflatable tube kite by an assembly of equivalent beam elements. In spanwise direction the wing is partitioned into several elementary cells, each consisting of a leading edge segment, two lateral inflatable battens, and the corresponding portion of canopy. The mechanical properties of an elementary cell—axial, transverse shear, bending, and torsion stiffness—and the chordwise centroid position are determined from the response to several imposed elementary displacements at its boundary, in the case of a cell under an uniform pressure loading. For this purpose the cells are supported at their four corners and different non-linear finite element analyses and linear perturbation computations are carried out. The complete kite is represented as an assembly of equivalent beams connected with rigid bodies. Coupled with a 3D non-linear lifting line method to determine the aerodynamics this structural model should allow predicting the flying shape and performance of new wing designs.
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de Solminihac, A. et al. (2018). Kite as a Beam: A Fast Method to get the Flying Shape. In: Schmehl, R. (eds) Airborne Wind Energy. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1947-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1947-0_4
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