Estimate of energy production in aerial systems of Wind Energy

• Autor(a) principal: João Pedro Rodrigues Machado
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/121229
• topic: Engenharia electrotécnica, electrónica e informática; Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Information engineering

The environmental impact resulting from the production of electricity through fossil fuels has led to a change in the way this energy is obtained, thus giving rise to renewable energies. This dissertation discusses a way to produce wind power using an AWES (Airborne Wind Energy System), more specifically a Pumping Kite Generator. The system presents a wing attached to a cable that connects it to an electric generator through a drum, producing electric energy through the tension in the cable while the wing moves in a path approximately orthogonal to the direction of the wind. When the maximum cable length is reached, the wing is controlled so as to minimize the tension in the cable and is withdrawn to an initial position from which it restarts the production cycle. Based on the dynamic profile of the wing and for the purpose of calculating energy production during a cycle, the reel in and reel out phases are analyzed. Dimensional parameters are introduced to help describe the efficiency of the cycle.Reel in and reel out speeds are calculated and used to calculate power over a cycle. The maximum power obtained during a cycle is calculated through two steps, the first one being for wind speeds below the nominal speed and the second step for speeds above the nominal. Through a selection of several parameters a system power curve is also constructed. The theoretical annual energy production is also obtained in a given location based on actual wind data.