A fascinating study on AWES optimization
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:ucin1592168644639446
For me, the killer takeaway is
The tool has also been used to optimize system parameters, leading to the conclusion that the proper size for an AWE system is the largest size where mass is scaling with wing area or the smallest size where mass is scaling faster than wing area.
Puts me in mind of dymaxion
From Wikipedia
The Dymaxion car was designed by American inventor Buckminster Fuller during the Great Depression and featured prominently at Chicago’s 1933/1934 World’s Fair. … Fuller associated the word Dymaxion with much of his work, a portmanteau of the words dynamic, maximum, and tension, to summarize his goal to do more with less.
The study begs the question
How do you account for both of those optimisations at the same time?
Arrayed multiple small units all working as 1 large unit.
A whole other enormous part of systems and design optimization is your key purpose,
Generating power from the wind efficiently.
If you have an AWES which isn’t using rotary harvest but you have been considering investigating rotary systems…
I recommend giving this Watt it takes podcast episode a listen. https://rss.art19.com/episodes/2818ef4d-cfa3-4880-b41f-bc29d2e304c8.mp3
They had to ditch their “Professor Crackpot” solution and get with the program. Goes back to that “the only thing wrong with your idea is every aspect that defines it! - other than that it’s great!”
I’ve watched so many companies raise so many millions of dollars with the backdrop of “the hysteria” over you-know-what. They always go bankrupt or otherwise go out of business. Whenever you hear these pushing-a-rope companies keep talking about raising money, raising money, raising money, watch out. Make sure it isn’t your money going down the drain. At some point, investors get weary of hearing excuses, at which point everything comes to a screeching halt. The product itself is incapable of supporting continued operation. The latest one in wind energy is Xzeres, one of the top two “small-wind” companies, no longer operating, after raising so much money both as Xzeres and before that as Southwest Windpower, endlessly borrowing tens of millions, for a market (small-wind) that is only worth a few million as a whole to begin with. (I’ve got the other leading brand installed here - picked up a used duplicate for next-to-nothing too, currently refurbing the blades, nice to have two (2) turbines, always good to have a spare - one to run, one to rebuild) The virus offers a great new excuse for slow or zero progress. Oh there - I just heard the phrase of “fake it til you make it”… Only problem is most never get past the “faking it” stage. Other than that, sounds great! (Don’t they always?). This sounds like it will last until the investors get tired of pushing a rope. Say, did you know parts of New York City will be underwater by the year 2020? Yup. Don’t say you weren’t warned! 
All roads lead to SuperTurbine™ 
“A fascinating study on AWES optimization”
I’d say another snooze-fest. At what point will we realize, from Dr. Peter Harrop on down the line, none of these opinions are worth the paper they’re printed on. So far NASA and even the NWTC have had nothing to offer. If someone has an answer, build it. The analysts and pundits know nothing.
Unfortunately roads don’t fly…
I think the killer takeaway is the tool that is proposed for quick simulation of rotary AWE rigs. We implement a similar tool at Kitemill (I believe aspects of this tool was described at AWE conf 2019 [Airborne Wind Energy System Optimizer (AWESOpt) for Fly-gen Analysis and Optimization / Mark Aull, Andy Stough / Windlift LLC]). The tool is super efficient…
1 Like
If only there was a way to watch the footage recorded at AWEC2019
1 Like
If only there was a way to view all the group-selfies!..
The angle for the AWEC2019 group photo was very tight from the stairwell into that atrium. Not sure everyone got in.