Stability and Performance of an Undersea Kite Operating in a Turbulent Flow Field

In this article, we examine the effects of flow disturbances resulting from turbulence on the dynamic behavior of an underwater energy-harvesting kite system that executes periodic figure-8 flight. Due to the periodic nature of the kite's operation, we begin by assessing orbital stability using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on control systems technology 2023-07, Vol.31 (4), p.1-16
Main Authors: Reed, James, Abney, Andrew, Mishra, Kirti D., Naik, Kartik, Perkins, Edmon, Vermillion, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical models
Asymptotic stability
Autonomous underwater vehicles
Degrees of freedom
Disturbances
Energy harvesting
Flow stability
Frequency analysis
Frequency domain analysis
HYDRO ENERGY
Kinematics
Kites
Orbital stability
Orbits
Path tracking
Power generation
Stability analysis
System Validation
Trajectory
Turbines
Turbulence
Turbulent flow
Undersea
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Summary:In this article, we examine the effects of flow disturbances resulting from turbulence on the dynamic behavior of an underwater energy-harvesting kite system that executes periodic figure-8 flight. Due to the periodic nature of the kite's operation, we begin by assessing orbital stability using the Floquet analysis and stroboscopic intersection analysis of a Poincaré section, with the former analysis performed on a simplified "unifoil" model and the latter performed on a six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF)/flexible tether model. With periodic stability established, a frequency-domain analysis based on a linearization about the kite's path is used to predict the quality of flight path tracking as a function of the turbulence frequency. To validate the accuracy of these simulation-based predictions under flow disturbances, we compare the predictions of the kite's behavior against the results of small-scale tow testing experiments performed in a controlled pool environment.
ISSN:1063-6536
1558-0865
DOI:10.1109/TCST.2023.3237614