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   iso-dome, iso-array, iso-lattices,
iso-meshes by kPower
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July 21, 2020, by Dave Santos
Misc. Iso-Kite Design Notes

Flattening Chord of Dome and Unit-sails- a flatter wing is a hotter wing and B-lines aft of the LE A-lines are the primary means to flatten and minimally power-up a soft aniso-wing, with a stability boost for LE inflation, when tensioned somewhat. The B-line factor is evident in Rogallo's original Flexible Kite design. There are also C and D lines in common use. C lines are usually dispensible, but D lines are essential to SS kite inflation, and are the "brake" lines in multi-line power kites. For a round/polygon iso-dome or unit-sail iso-wing, an inner B-line ring will be standard (and maybe even C-line ring, according to engineering trade-off).

iso- and aniso- by kPower
The dome will want to fly downwind and tilted up to present more AoA for max Cl/Cd. High Cd is a useful force in AWE, as well as in conventional flight modes like flaring-for-landing. This downwind shift and tilt of the isodome is a major design element in that the legs must adjust accordingly. Crosslinking opposite legs in a lower layer is a good solution, but a reel at each leg can also do the job, and the design choice may vary as necessary.

Every unit-sail location in an isodome wants an independent approximately optimal AoA, which passive elastic rigging can enable. The flow-field around the iso-dome will tend to buffer local wind turbulence (ie. atmospheric boundary layer vertical convection). The major engineering trade-off question for unit-sails is the furling and/or hot-swapping design. Possibilities range from vertical surface halyards to workers ranging out on the dome to do sail changes. Specific unit-sail design is project in itself. Proposed that "UFO" is a nice working name for iso-unit-sails, in honor of the original UFO iso-kite.

Based on brilliant online interviews, Pat Goodman of North Technology Group (NTG) has been identified by Kpower as a rare top kite aerodynamics and design expert, and directly invited to collaborate in multi-r iso-kite AWES R&D. There is a generational transition in kite engineering science as older masters like Culp, Lynn, and Roeseler age-out. Goodman will be a fine new mind in AWE. Note NTG's already deep strategic role in AWE R&D, with several DE branches, and the wing designer/supplier (North Sails NZ) for SkySails of Hamburg:

http://www.energykitesystems.net/AirborneWindEnergy/NorthKb.html

Another great interview link to add to archive:
North Kiteboarding Reborn - The Pat Goodman Interview - Kitesurfing Magazine
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Schematic Concept coming along nicely:
Mine use
Crosswind power motion not shown
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The multi-r architecture can be classed as a Playsail Kite, which is conjectured to be the first kite, dating back to the Paleolithic Age, when hunter-gathers struggled with skin tents in high wind. The playsail topology is the most conservative and radical kite type.

Hambach pit should never be fully flooded, or the pumped hydro capability is lost and the AWES capability reduced. The AWES should instead keep the lake pumped out enough to accept new hydropower flow, perhaps from a higher shallower nearby reservoir.

If we have a 10GW unit-AWES concept, then ~100 plants is in principle a civilizational ecological game-changer. Creating a starting list of promising sites is timely. Hambach Pit, Columbia River Gorge, North San Francisco Bay, Three Gorges Dam, Isthmus de Tehuantepec, Gibraltar, etc..