Articles | Volume 10, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-2663-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-2663-2025
Research article
 | 
18 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 18 Nov 2025

Aero-servo simulations of an airborne wind energy system using geometry-resolved computational fluid dynamics

Niels Pynaert, Thomas Haas, Jolan Wauters, Guillaume Crevecoeur, and Joris Degroote

Cited articles

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Capsada, L., and Heinrich, R.: Development of the DLR TAU code for modelling of control surfaces, https://www.dglr.de/publikationen/2019/480018.pdf (last access: 4 November 2024), 2018. a
Castro-Fernández, I., Borobia-Moreno, R., Cavallaro, R., and Sánchez-Arriaga, G.: Three-dimensional unsteady aerodynamic analysis of a rigid-framed delta kite applied to airborne wind energy, Energies, https://doi.org/10.3390/en14238080, 2021. a
Cherubini, A., Papini, A., Vertechy, R., and Fontana, M.: Airborne Wind Energy Systems: A review of the technologies, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.053, 2015. a
Crismer, J.-B., Haas, T., Duponcheel, M., and Winckelmans, G.: Airborne wind energy systems flying optimal trajectories in turbulent wind using flight path tracking, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/7/072021, 2024. a, b, c
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Short summary
We developed a detailed simulation to better understand how tethered aircraft can fly in wind to generate energy. By accurately modeling the aerodynamics around the aircraft and how the aircraft reacts and is controlled, we can gain new insight into how to improve efficiency and safety. Our virtual environment successfully followed a planned flight path and revealed potential design and operational improvements based on the analysis of the airflow.
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