Control of power kites for naval propulsion

Author

Fagiano, L. ; Milanese, M. ; Razza, V. ; Gerlero, I.

Author_Institution

Dipt. di Autom. e Inf., Politec. di Torino, Torino, Italy

fYear

2010

fDate

June 30 2010-July 2 2010

Firstpage

4325

Lastpage

4330

Abstract

This paper investigates the application of an innovative technology for high-altitude wind power generation to naval propulsion. The basic idea is to exploit the traction forces exerted by automatically controlled power kites, flying fast in crosswind conditions, to pull a boat. Numerical analyses are carried out employing a mathematical model of the system and an efficient Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) law. Differently from existing approaches, the cost function considered in NMPC design is directly the predicted traction force exerted on the kite lines. The obtained numerical results are compared with the data collected during experimental tests carried out in the project KiteNav, undergoing at Politecnico di Torino.

Keywords

naval engineering; nonlinear control systems; predictive control; propulsion; cost function; naval propulsion; nonlinear model predictive control; wind power generation; Automatic control; Boats; Force control; Mathematical model; Numerical analysis; Power system modeling; Predictive control; Predictive models; Propulsion; Wind power generation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

American Control Conference (ACC), 2010

Conference_Location

Baltimore, MD

ISSN

0743-1619

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-7426-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ACC.2010.5530824

Filename

5530824