Abstract

In this paper, electric power production using airborne systems (kites) has been investigated. In the first step, an appropriate model for describing the behavior of airborne systems is obtained and based on this model, a new path planning algorithm is proposed for the airborne system in the traction phase. Then, in order to achieve the proper operation, tracking the desired path and thus optimal wind energy extraction, a robust controller based on the sliding mode approach is designed in the presence of variations in atmospheric parameters and the uncertainties in the system model. In the proposed method, the control strategy is obtained based on the speed vector angle control of the airborne. In the proposed approach, six target points are used for the path planning of the kite motion in the traction phase, which increases the precision and flexibility of the designed path. Furthermore, the effect of adjusting the shape of the flight path of the airborne system during the traction phase on the system performance and extraction of the maximum wind force was investigated.