Bob wrote, "Kites also seem suitable particularly for impact drills, where they can be used."

AKA Hammer Drills, but most of these operate at fairly high frequencies and kites operate at lower frequencies.

I am not sure if Kite Pile-Driving has been mentioned on the Forum, but it is in my mind to counter sea level rise, and would nicely match in natural frequency to kite actions, in lifting and dropping a large driving mass.

Pile-Driving Kite Rig
A traditional pile-driver drops a weight from a short height onto the pile. Its
a sort of small moving tower structure that holds the pile and guides the
hammer-mass. Its often suspended from a crane to move it about.

To drive a pile-driver by kite can be done by guying or otherwise holding firm
the tower-top so that the kite can pull sideways from there (over a roller) to
haul the weight up. A second method is to run the haul-rope back down to the
ground, and let the kite pull from that point.

A special requirement is to quick-release the hammer mass without perturbing the
kite. An optimal kite pile-driver may therefore require a mechanical buffer
stage, to isolate the kite from the "negative spike". The power kite can also in
principle serve to move and erect the pile-driver.

Competing with all sorts of diesel equipment may be a higher-profit niche role
for kites than competing with (non carbon off-set) utility-rate power.

Bob notes: I've seen shale drilled using a hollow pile-driver tip.  For deep holes, this might be augmented with a staged lift for the debris.  The intermittent pull of a kite might also be employed on deep-well pumps.
Bob
 

• CC BY NC SA  ~Bob Stuart and Dave Santos    25March2013    
   
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