Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of the flow past a leading edge inflatable wing for airborne wind energy applications

Viré, Axelle; Demkowicz, Patryk; Folkersma, Mikko; Roullier, Arthur; Schmehl, Roland

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1618/3/032007

Cited by 8 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…High‐fidelity models and flight simulators 7‐12 also play an important role during the design and optimization phases of the machines. Pioneering aerodynamic models 13‐15 have been followed by studies with viscous‐inviscid interaction methods, 16 Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes simulations, 17,18 and large eddy simulations 19 . Most of the studies were dedicated to the analysis of leading edge inflatable and ram‐air kites at stationary flow conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides wind tunnel experiments, 13,19 flight test setups have been developed to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of AWE systems 20‐23 . In situ flow measurements of a soft kite in complex flight maneuvers were obtained 18,22 . The Pitot tube was installed on a rigid frame attached to the two power lines, instead of the kite, and the inflow angles were measured with vanes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pioneering aerodynamic models [13][14][15] have been followed by studies with viscous-inviscid interaction methods, 16 Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes simulations, 17,18 and large eddy simulations. 19 Most of the studies were dedicated to the analysis of leading edge inflatable and ram-air kites at stationary flow conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[20][21][22][23] In situ flow measurements of a soft kite in complex flight maneuvers were obtained. 18,22 The Pitot tube was installed on a rigid frame attached to the two power lines, instead of the kite, and the inflow angles were measured with vanes. Other experimental setups did not include sensors for the in situ measurement of the aerodynamic velocity vector of the kite.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Identification of kite aerodynamic characteristics using the estimation before modeling technique

et al. 2021

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The aerodynamic characteristics of a leading edge inflatable (LEI) kite and a rigid‐framed delta (RFD) kite were investigated. Flight data were recorded by using an experimental setup that includes an inertial measurement unit, a GPS, a magnetometer, and a multi‐hole Pitot tube onboard the kites, load cells at every tether, and a wind station that measures the velocity and heading angle of the wind. These data were used to feed a flight path reconstruction algorithm that estimated the full state vector of the kite. Since the latter includes the aerodynamic force and moment about the center of mass of the kite, quantitative information about the aerodynamic characteristics of the kites was obtained. Due to limitation of the experimental setup, the LEI kite flew most of the time in post‐stall conditions, which resulted in a poor maneuverability and data acquisition. This assumption was corroborated by a particular maneuver where the lift coefficient decreased from 1 to 0.4, while its angle of attack increased from 35° to 50°. On the contrary, abundant flight data were obtained for the RFD kite during more than 10 figure‐eight maneuvers. Although the angle of attack was high, between 20° and 40°, the kite did not reach its maximum lift coefficient. High tether tensions and a good maneuverability were achieved. Statistical analysis of the behavior of the lift, drag, and pitch moment coefficients as a function of the angle of attack and the sideslip angle allowed to identify some basic aerodynamic parameters of the kite.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Identification of kite aerodynamic characteristics using the estimation before modeling technique

et al. 2021

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“…The present study builds on the work of [19,20] with the focus on two effects that 92 were not considered before. Firstly, the influence of the chordwise struts on the local 93 flow development and aerodynamic performance will be assessed by adding these 94 geometrical features to the wing.…”

Section: Introduction 16mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Chordwise Struts and Misaligned Flow on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Leading-Edge Inflatable Wing

Viré¹,

Lebesque²,

Folkersma³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Steady-state Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations are performed for a leading-edge inflatable wing for airborne wind energy applications. Expanding on previous work where only the inflatable leading edge tube was considered, eight additional inflatable strut tubes that support the wing canopy are now included. The shape of the wing is considered to be constant. The influence of the strut tubes on the aerodynamic performance of the wing and the local flow field is assessed, considering flow configurations with and without side-slip. The simulations show that the aerodynamic performance of the wing decreases with increasing side-slip component of the inflow. On the other hand, the chordwise struts have little influence on the integral lift and drag of the wing, irrespective of the side-slip component. The overall flow characteristics are in good agreement with previous studies. In particular, it is confirmed that at a low Reynolds number of Re=10^5, a laminar separation bubble exists on the suction side of this hypothetical rigid wing shape with perfectly smooth surface. The destruction of this bubble at low angles of attack impacts negatively on the aerodynamic performance.

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Unsteady Aerodynamics of Delta Kites for Airborne Wind Energy Under Dynamic Stall Conditions

Castro‐Fernández,

Cavallaro,

Schmehl

et al. 2024

Wind Energy

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Three unsteady aerodynamic tools at different levels of fidelity and computational cost were used to investigate the unsteady aerodynamic behavior of a delta kite applied to airborne wind energy. The first tool is an in‐house unsteady panel method that is fast but delivers low to mid fidelity predictions. The second tool uses the open‐source CFD code SU2 to solve the unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the SST turbulence model. At an intermediate level of fidelity, a semiempirical dynamic stall model that combines the panel method with a phenomenological dynamic stall module is proposed. The latter has free parameters that are fine‐tuned with CFD results from the second tool. The research on the dynamic stall model has been inspired by two flight test campaigns suggesting dynamic stall phenomena possibly driven by the periodic variation of the angle of attack (aerodynamic pitching motion) during crosswind maneuvers. The recorded inflow along the flight path was prescribed in the three aerodynamic tools. As expected, the price to pay for the low computational cost of the panel method is its inability to capture the dynamic stall phenomenon. The results from unsteady CFD qualitatively matched the experimental data identifying a leading‐edge vortex that forms and detaches cyclically during the pitching motion. Using RANS data, the semiempirical tool was fined‐tuned to reproduce the dynamic stall behavior, becoming an accurate and fast aerodynamic tool for coupling with any kite flight simulator. Further discussions on the effects of kite aerostructural deflections are included.

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Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of the flow past a leading edge inflatable wing for airborne wind energy applications

Cited by 8 publications

References 15 publications

Identification of kite aerodynamic characteristics using the estimation before modeling technique

Identification of kite aerodynamic characteristics using the estimation before modeling technique

Effect of Chordwise Struts and Misaligned Flow on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Leading-Edge Inflatable Wing

Unsteady Aerodynamics of Delta Kites for Airborne Wind Energy Under Dynamic Stall Conditions

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