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Kite Anchoring Review and Update (Gabions)
Various anchoring concepts are well known in AWES design. For scale
prototypes, dedicated research vehicles are ready anchors. In classic
kiting, a variety of improvised vehicle anchors, stakes, and bags (ie.
sand-anchors) are popular. Sand-filled dump trucks and dumpsters have been
used for giant kite anchors. Beaches are a handy anchoring media for many
kite festivals.
Industrial AWES anchors will apply standard civil engineering anchoring
technologies. Industrial anchors range from steel soil-kites to many kinds
of reinforced concrete footings with attachment points provided. The
kPower kite farm, call it kFarm, has 12" augered holes with 10 ton
working-load rated hardware and estimated soil resistance. These anchors
are wonderfully secure, compact, and flush. KiteLab Ilwaco has a set of
"roofer's tear-out tarps" as super sand-anchors work-rated at 7 tons each.
These anchors have flown Mothra1 in gusts and gales without budging.
A problem emerged in planning multi-anchor fields for traveling public AWE
events, like AWEfest, in city parks. Vehicles are a messy and expensive
solution. A powerful kite can drag an ordinary vehicle easily. Even loaded
dumptrucks have been overturned by too much show kite, due to a high
center-of-gravity. Cost is a factor. Ideal anchors are cheap.
The newly identified solution is Gabions , metal cages designed to retain
stones, gravel, sand, or even soil, with suitable fabric liner. The cages
come folded flat and use whatever local material is best. Sandbags or
cobbles would be a favored option. At the end of an event, the fill
material is to be recycled locally, and the cages packed away for travel.
The present task is to optimize gabions for kite use. Wire-rope or Nylon
slings, like those used for crane lifting, will girdle the gabion. The
ideal shape is smooth and low-profile, lenticular, with maximum resistance
to lateral dragging. These anchors are to be scalable for large kite farm
use in conditions where other standard anchors are not favored (by cost or
maybe loose soils, undersea, over rotten bedrock, in swamp, etc.).
Be sure to have a PE or other qualified pro review and approve your DIY
designs. Always include kite-killers and other fail-soft precautions.
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:
- Commentary is welcome:
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Hulls of boats and ships are also used as the resistive sets of kite
systems. ~ JoeF
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In free-flight kiting AWES, the resistive set or anchor is another
airborne wing set. ~ JoeF
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Mention by DaveS of the "soil-kite" reminds one that the anchor to a
kite system may be seen as another wing set opposing the wing set at
the other end of the tether set. Kite: tether-coupled wing
sets. ~ JoeF
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