Kitewinder airborne wind turbine

Présentation :

The "Kitewinder Airborne Wind Turbine" system is a multi-technology didactic system based on the invention of a start-up from the New Aquitaine region.
Today, the production of energy from wind is mainly based on wind turbines with mast, however the approach of airborne wind turbine without rigid mast offers an alternative with real advantages:
•Capture of more constant and powerful upper winds
•Ease of deployment, reduced noise pollution
•No mast, no foundations, 90% reduction in the amount of manufacturing materials.

Kitewinder's Kiwee One is an airborne wind turbine that captures wind at altitude by means of a wind turbine carried by a sail and connected to the ground generator by a pulley/belt system.

With its 150m strap, Kiwee One harnesses the constant winds at height, day and night, to provide a constant 100W of power. As soon as the wind stops or the solution needs to be folded, KiweeOne automatically rewinds to land within 3m of its anchor point.

KiweeOne weighs 4.5kg and can be carried in a backpack. It can be installed without tools and its blades are foldable.

Kitewinder designed a compact, low-cost power generation solution through an analytical approach and iterative prototyping. Kitewinder's involvement in the pedagogical adaptation of Kiwee One allowed access to the design history and associated technical choices.

The pedagogical model consists of the entire conversion chain of the Kiwee One wind turbine, except for the propeller. A programmed engine reproduces the behavior of a propeller in a given wind. Kiwee One adapts permanently to the wind conditions to extract the maximum energy while preserving its integrity.

Contents of the didactic product "Airborne wind turbine Kitewinder:

The "Kitewinder airborne wind turbine test bench" KW10 consists of :

• The angle transmission mechanism of the driving part (The sail and the blades are supplied in spare parts in parallel of the bench)
• The cable system linking the motor and the generator
• The generator
• The electronic control board and the 2200mAh Lithium-Ion battery
• A motorization sub-assembly of the engine to reproduce the variable wind conditions
• A strain gauge allowing to work on the stresses of the cable
• A welded frame ensuring the safety of the users

A user interface designed on Labview (executable and .vi provided) allows to drive the system and to realize the acquisitions of control signals and measurements :

• Motor: Wind speed setpoint -Power Cin/ Betz/ Shaft / Motor / Electric -Speed of rotation -Current setpoint
• Generator: Speed setpoint and Speed - Current, voltage and level - Generator power - Output power and current - Output voltage
• Strain gauge: Raw data on 12 bits -Data converted to Grams

A technical and pedagogical file in HTML format is provided:

• Solidworks drawings with design evolutions during the project
• Electrical and electronic diagrams
• SysML model
• Matlab/Simulink models
• Python programs
• Labview Interfaces(.exe and .vi)
• Educational activities...

Also proposed, the Kiwee One airborne wind turbine from Kitewinder ready to be used in real conditions (Ref.: KW11)

Strengths of the system :

• Innovative and original system of renewable energy production
• Easy to use on the test bench.
• Technological wealth: Kinematics, Mechanics, Materials, Batteries, Strain gauges...
• Matlab/Simulink, Solidworks, SysML, Python

Réferences :

KW10 :Test bench Kitewinder airborne wind turbine

KW11 : Kitewinder Kiwee One airborne wind turbine (Ready to be used in real conditions)

Vidéo :

Video de présentation Kitewinder