Topic:
Rigid Wings versus Soft Wings for Generating Utility-Scale Kitricity?
- Tools for the question: rational analysis, careful
parameterized simulations, build-and-test, analyze iterations, observe
machine use carefully,
- Address multiple-wing kite systems in the exploration of
the topic question.
- Apply the virtues of statistical analysis to historical
data on the question.
- Notice how few are members in samples!
- What if SkySails towed a barge of hydroturbines to focus on
generating electricity? Since the SkySails kite would be involved, the
product electricity could be dubbed "kitricity." How much kitricity
could be generated using their largest kited wing?
skysails-power.com/advantages.html
- Mean time between failures? MTBF wiki/Mean_time_between_failures Just what will be meant by "failure" will play in the discussion.
- Costs over the life of a given AWES including de-commissioning seems to be part of the concern.
- Risks and insurability may play in sorting the question.
- Investors and customers may want to see the topic question sorted well.
- Scaling Matters
Power-Kite v. Energy-Drone TPL/MSE
To AWEurope IEA Wind work-package participants:
Any disagreement with general engineering-science predicted here? The idea is to inform decision-makers about what theory and growing test data indicates.
TPL is Jochem's favorite metric, TPL, related to TRL. Power-to-Mass
is closely equivalent to TPL. "Energy Drone" term-of-art distinguishes
current high-complexity flight platforms from COTS TRL9 Power Kites.
============
Many AWES developers are sadly mistaken about "solutions to mitigate (high MSE) for energy-drones," by mistaking the fundamental physics. Most AWEurope players are still betting on Energy Drone Design (combinations of rigid airframes, eVTOL, catapults, control pods, complex active control, flygens, etc.), with high MSE and low TPL.
Therefore, it is necessary to continue testing Energy Drones, and let predicted poor scalability, power curves, and crash statistics speak for themselves. Ampyx AP3 is the next major test case (2021).
Meanwhile, Power Kite AWES will also continue in testing. Controversy over which AWE paradigm is superior is being decisively resolved. Already, there is a considerable case-base, from Makani to SkySails, with crash statistics, power curves, and economic data. There will be no lack of theoretical support for the flight data.