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Model Predictive Control of Rigid-Airfoil Airborne Wind Energy Systems

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Airborne Wind Energy

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

In order to allow for a reliable and lasting operation of Airborne Wind Energy systems, several problems need to be addressed. One of the most important challenges regards the control of the tethered airfoil during power generation. Tethered flight of rigid airfoils is a fast, strongly nonlinear, unstable and constrained process, and one promising way to address the control challenge is the use of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) together with online parameter and state estimation based on Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE). In this paper, these techniques are introduced and their performance demonstrated in simulations of a 30 m wingspan tethered airplane with power generation in pumping mode.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Research Council KUL: PFV/10/002 Optimization in Engineering Center OPTEC, GOA/10/09 MaNet and GOA/10/11 Global real-time optimal control of autonomous robots and mechatronic systems. Flemish Government: IOF/KP/SCORES4CHEM, FWO: PhD/postdoc grants and projects: G.0320.08 (convex MPC), G.0377.09 (Mechatronics MPC); IWT: PhD Grants, projects: SBO LeCoPro; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office: IUAP P7 (DYSCO, Dynamical systems, control and optimization, 2012-2017); EU: FP7-EMBOCON (ICT-248940), FP7-SADCO (MC ITN-264735), ERC ST HIGHWIND (259 166), Eurostars SMART, ACCM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, KU Leuven, Arenberg Kasteel park 10, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Mario Zanon, Sébastien Gros & Moritz Diehl

Authors
  1. Mario Zanon
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  2. Sébastien Gros
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  3. Moritz Diehl
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Correspondence to Mario Zanon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. NTS Energie- und Transportsysteme GmbH, Berlin, Germany

    Uwe Ahrens

  2. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Leuven, Belgium

    Moritz Diehl

  3. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Roland Schmehl

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Zanon, M., Gros, S., Diehl, M. (2013). Model Predictive Control of Rigid-Airfoil Airborne Wind Energy Systems. In: Ahrens, U., Diehl, M., Schmehl, R. (eds) Airborne Wind Energy. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39965-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39965-7_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39964-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39965-7

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