kPower cc by 3.0                

•  ~ kPower   8Feb2014           AirborneWindEnergy/conversations/messages/11459

Thanks for the higher resolution imaging Ed... Keep them coming.
It really does help for the rest of us trying to understand the configuration of terms.

Kite Ship OL (Single skin, 3 line kite seen in green) being flown from a  kPower pilot station (6 Post protected piloting area allowing mechanical anchoring and control beyond human power)  through a  kPTO (Where the kite control lines run through a trolley carriage, The trolley carriage is free to run on a tight crosswind cableway, the trolley carriage also tows a power output line parallel to the cableway) along a crosswind cable-way.

Notice the "dog stake" method of flying;  (Where the pilot is downwind of the trolley carriage) this enables the pilot to easily relaunch the kite without a long walk.  Note also the double drive kite engine  (double drive kite engine takes a stroke input from 2 directions as demonstrated on youtube)  in the foreground


Dave S ... you mentioned in another post...

If xxxxx was wise to the real challenges of AWE R&D, he would worry about our team safety; advising us not to hurry, rather than unfairly complaining that Mothra validation is unfinished. Scaling-up pioneering AWE methods to utility-scale is slow dangerous work. xxxxx can speed it up by helping solve the challenges, ...

I agree.
And I'm going to share a few safety concerns of my own.

I like how the dog tie method compresses the footprint of AWES land coverage. There are a couple of obvious safety points to dislike about it though.
1 The pilots are sitting downwind of kite tensioned gear. Neither of you looks comfortable nor assured.
2 This method effectively doubles the line tension acting on the cableway trolley carriage. Two sets of tensed kite lines around the pulleys pulling downwind. Some of the single point failure modes I can imagine would be UNKIND.


In the mix of demands from footprint and streamtube efficiency
I'm sure we can find schemes with safer working and as efficient wind energy conversion.
The idea of driving a large circular cableway or driving on a large circular cableway, obviously improves weathercocking ... but leaves little room for generation stroke given the demands on the flight window and the weight implications..

A mix mix of system ideas may end up looking like this  [weathercocking with a dual stroke takeoff]

A short control board shuttling across a broad segment of a circle. Carriage mounted pulleys at the extremes of segment and a minimal 1 more carriage at the upwind tether are linked to ride on the circle as weathercocking dictates. Power take off is in the centre, driven by the board pulling a light tensed rope loop through the pulleys.

Most of my schemes now come down to having a good linked set of tube riding cuffs (or rail riding carriages) on a stretched circle.

CC3.0 NC BY SA

Rod Read

Windswept and Interesting Limited
15a Aiginis
Isle of Lewis
HS2 0PB

07899057227
01851 870878

http://kitepowercoop.org

Comment and development of this topic will be occurring here.       
All, send notes, links, drawings, papers, videos, plans, safety-critical findings, and photographs!

• Terms and aspects:  
• Related links and concepts:  
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• Commentary is welcome:
  • Hold on a second, Davey Boy Santos!      DaveS had written:  "Somebody soon show how the tensile circular track works in some quickie demo, since its not COTS, nor proven like the basic compass belay. Its surely doable, but does not seem to exist, unlike all the other pieces,"
    
    Rod Read alerts a counter: "Why not just use a rotary overhead crane upside down. or any other annular extrusion with force-angle handling properties and a suitable carriage for that matter.
    We are now fully COTS again!    Or if you want it pre approved, rated for human safety,  and COTS: Roller coaster track sections and minimal carriages.
     
  • DaveS responds: Suitably engineered "roller coaster track" would work, but its not pure-COTS cheap; it would be a major cost, far more than just a circle of anchor-points. Let NTS solve this one for us.
    
    A rotating or fixed perimeter cable for snatch-blocks would be cheaper. The rocker bogie rollers that cableways use are like snatch blocks, as an industrial solution. The arch anchors would be secured to swaged points with J-hooks, as cable-cars attach. A rotating cable circle can be bull-wheel driven.
    
    We are still short a dirt-cheap bench-top prototype version of a "Lazy-Susan" kite farm turret. Look to curtain tracks for a start. kPower has looked at utility-door roller-hangers, as a next scaling-step option; the track can be bent, and the attachment hardware is varied.                   ~ DaveS
     
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