1. Single Line Tethered Glider
Jon Erbelding
Paul Grossi
Sajid Subhani
Kyle Ball
Matthew Douglas
William Charlock

2. Agenda Team introduction Problem definition
Private and academic development
Customer needs
Engineering requirements
Timeline moving forward

3. Team Introduction Team Member Role Sajid Subhani Industrial Eng /
Team Lead
Kyle Ball
Mech Eng
Matthew Douglas
William Charlock
Jon Erbelding
Paul Grossi
MSD Staff
Role
Ed Hanzlik
Team Guide
Art North
Mario Gomes
Customer

4. Problem Definition
Glider
Tether
Operator w/
controller
Goal: Design, build, and test a tethered, small- scale, human-controlled glider.
Critical project objectives
Maintain maximum tension on the tether
Sustaining horizontal and vertical flight paths
Measure/record tether tension & position
Understand the influential parameters for sustained, tethered, unpowered flight
Why we’re exploring this concept:
This system will lead to the ability to harness high-altitude wind energy currently inaccessible by wind turbines.
Wind turbines at similar heights would require unfeasibly large structures to support the forces exerted upon them.
Why we need to identify influential parameters:
This will assist in creating automated controls in future projects.
Base
Station

5. Private Development Ampyx Power Tethered Glider
Ground power generation
Figure-8 pattern
Capable of generating 850kW

6. Private Development Makani Power Tethered Glider
Airborne wind turbines
Circular pattern
Tested 30kW; Goal of 600kW

7. Academic Papers
Loyd
1980 Paper outlining how to harness high altitude wind energy
3 Different Methods
Simple Kite
Crosswind Powered Kite
Drag Powered Kite
Uses turbines on kite rather than a ground based generator

8. Academic Papers Lansdorp Two Different Arrays of Kites
Pumping Mill
Laddermill
Created a system to measure the tension magnitude and direction using 3D load cell assembly
Basis for our system
Three axis load cell system created by Lansdorp et al.Image taken from [Lansdorp 2007].

9. Academic Papers Donnelly Fighter Kites
Theoretical model to predict motion of fighter kite
Created a method to control the fighter kite motion
Created an experimental rig with generator and variable tether length similar to Lansdorp’s.
Three axis load cell allowing for variable tether length created by Chris Donnelley. Image taken from [Donnelly 2013].

10. Customer Needs CN # Importance Description CN1 1
Tethered glider system (with electric prop assist for launching) that demonstrates at least 3 minutes of continuous circular flight path with taunt tether.
CN2
Human controlled plane
CN3
No special flight skills required
CN4 2
Laptop not required for data collection
CN5
Tether tension is measured and recorded during flights
CN6
Tether direction is measured and recorded during flights
CN7
Videos with accompanying data files of all flight tests
CN8
Robust plane design
CN9
Maximize tether tension
CN10
Vertical and horizontal flight
CN11
Obtain data that can be compared to Matlab simulation
CN12
Reasonable plane size

11. Engineering Requirements
Metric No.
Metric
Marginal Value
Ideal Value
Units 1
Wingspan
<=1.5
<1 m 2
Weight
<=6
<=4
lbs 3
System Cost
<500 $ 4
Length of Looping Flight
>2
>=3
min 5
Resolution of Tension Data
<=0.1
<=0.01 N 6
Resolution of Angular Position Data
<=0.5
deg 7
Typical Repair Time 8
Data Sampling Rate
>=100
>=500 Hz 9
Minimal Operational Wind Speed at Ground Level 10
mph
Maximum Operational Wind Speed at Ground Level 20 40 11
Safe for User and Observer
Yes
Binary 12
Number of Looping Trials Demonstrated
>=25
>=30
Integer 13
Training Time (1st Time)
<30
<20 14
Number of Left Right Horizontal Trials

12. House of Quality

13. Timeline Phase 1 (wk 1-3) - COMPLETE! Phase 2 (wk 4-6) - In progress
Define/understand problem definition
Research similar projects
Organize as a team
Phase 2 (wk 4-6) - In progress
Learn to fly
Research production load cells & gliders
Identify/understand critical engineering theory

14. Timeline Phase 3 (wk 7-9) Phase 4 (wk 10-13) Phase 5 (wk 14-15)
Determine glider design
If building glider from scratch
Identify airfoil types, materials, control/communication features
Develop theoretical simulation of flight
Phase 4 (wk 10-13)
Refine glider design
Refine theoretical simulations
Phase 5 (wk 14-15)
Order materials

15. Using Asana

16. Summary Team introduction Problem definition
Private and academic development
Customer needs
Engineering requirements
Timeline moving forward

17. References Ampyx Power. http://www.ampyxpower.com/
Makani Power.
Loyd, Miles L. “Crosswind Kite Power.” Journal of Energy 4.3 (1980): 106–111. Print.
Lansdorp, Bas. “Comparison of Concepts for High-altitude Wind Energy Generation with Ground Based Generator.” Proceedings of the NRE Conference,Beijing, (2005): 1–9. Web. 17 Feb
Donnelly, Christopher. “Dynamics and control of a single-line maneuverable kite.” Rochester Institute of Technology. (2013).

18. Questions?