So in the test, these rings coped without any obvious deformation. No idea quite how much compression from line tension they could handle. Answers please…
I’d guess speed wouldn’t be much over what we had, … As kite ring diameters increase rotor rad/s will decrease meaning more torque needs to be handled to scale power. See How a sky serpent shaft can scale up?
The relationship between geometry and capability is being investigated… @Ollie is doing the PhD.
I suspect we don’t want to increase the line count much as thicker lines are more efficient if they are working at significant length. Fewer lines also means a steeper angle between load points (on the hoop or polygon ring) thus more efficient material compression. ~= better scaling potential … this is why @someAWE_cb uses straight rod compression in his tensile shaft.
Wider diameter shafts handle torque better and torsional deformation isn’t a problem… So it all comes down to not overloading the ring sections in your stack from the bottom, which should be easy enough with good monitoring… Assuming we model how much compression a given ring (or polygon) can handle.
How long the shaft has to be… well it doesn’t really need to be long… And the weird thing is you can use some of the energy transmission to drive shaft expansion kites lower down on the shaft…
Needs plenty lift.
It’s all a bit up in the air still. Oh ho ho ho