click to close
<
>
The aerodynamic, structural, and control system designs of an airborne wind turbine are highly coupled. The aerodynamics team uses a combination of complex optimization routines and classical aerodynamic design to balance the diverse requirements for tethered flight. The result is a system that is quick to prototype, robust, efficient, lightweight, and easy to control.
Makani uses a number of tools for aerodynamic simulation ranging from an in-house nonlinear code used for control development through all flight modes to complex CFD for verifying three-dimensional effects. Pictured is a lift distribution for a 1 MW wing, as generated from a linear code used in the early stages of wing design.
Makani has developed its own software for the simulation and design of hybrid rotors. Makani’s hybrid rotors operate as a turbine to generate power, or as a propeller to produce thrust and keep the wing in the air. The same model is used to design both the rotors and the wing’s autonomous controller, and to verify system performance.
