A topic about North Sails: North Sails as low-key AWE leader - Lounge - AWESystems Forum.
Some recent comments about 3Di technology:
Website:
Would there be a possibility for a development of kitesurfing kites, and AWE kites like those of SkySails or @Kitepower for example?
Indeed, if the lifespan can be seriously increased, it would be a mitigation of one of the disadvantages of flexible wings.
Some quotes are provided below to start guessing the lifespan. Of course, the XF-film is a film while the 3Di is a fabric, but both are not laminated.
I remember in the same time I tested a common laminated woven tarp of equivalent mass (about 60-90 g/m² for both XF-film and the laminated tarp), for a lifespan of one year (also outdoors).
About XF-film:
See also All about fabrics - Engineering / Manufacturing - AWESystems Forum.
I contacted the top experts in the biggest sail lofts like Quantum Sails, UK Sails, Precision Sails, North Sails, Elvstrøm, and several others and asked them about the lifespan I could expect to get out of the different sail materials.
This was their response:
- Laminate sails typically last 5-7 years before they start to de-laminate and need replacement.
- Dacron sails typically last 10-12 years, depending on material quality and use.
- Ultra PE sails like Vectran and Hydranet can last up to 20 years if they are well cared for.
It is safe to claim that the Hydranet’s can last longer than 50.000 nautical miles with proper care.
Larger racing yachts can easily reach speeds up to 15 knots (17 mph or 28 km/h), with an average cruising speed between 6-8 knots (7-9 mph).
Let us take an average speed of 7 knots per hour.
50.000/7 = 7143 hours, so 297 days, so less than one year, assuming continuous operation just like AWES.
I reckon there are some limitations to 3di tech capability in terms of kite design
e.g. tape rolling on a convex table
Firstly a kite is a more complex 3d shape in terms of the degrees of curvature
with
Secondly the force loading on a tensile material kite is required to be distributed through ribs into intricate bridle line geometries
Sure it can embed corner reinforcements, batten pockets, furling lines…
I think you can even do a windsurf mast sleeve (Or is that bonded/sewn on later?)
Those can be handy … pockets would allow bladders for the likes of kitepower rigs based on surf kites
Short line stubs could be used for later bridle line attachments… but point loading bridles from the skin is never going to give as neat a result as bridle loading from a cambered rib…
I don’t see how ribs would attach with 3di
Surely the 3di method could be used for making 3d molded sections which can be fused together in a further process … but a one shot manufactured kite, how could it be performant and so simple? I don’t know
Some great chat on how Flare designed the Mustache and Prop (their new paramotor wing) on this video
with details of wing responses and behaviors given different designs
Interesting analysis.
To come back to the lifespan, a crosswind kite will undergo much more stress than a sail because of the relative wind speed which multiplies the force per unit area. Adding reel-out and reel-in phases…
We can therefore expect a much shorter lifespan than the one mentioned above:
That’s why some AWE companies continue with fixed wings.