On Wind Speed Sensor Configurations and Altitude Control in Airborne Wind Energy Systems

Abstract: Real-time altitude control of airborne wind energy (AWE) systems can improve performance by allowing turbines to track favorable wind speeds across a range of operating altitudes. The current work explores the performance implications of deploying an AWE system with sensor configurations that provide different amounts of data to characterize wind speed profiles. We examine various control objectives that balance trade-offs between exploration and exploitation, and use a persistence model to generate a probabilistic wind speed forecast to inform control decisions. We assess system performance by comparing power production against baselines such as omniscient control and stationary flight. We show that with few sensors, control strategies that reward exploration are favored. We also show that with comprehensive sensing, the implications of choosing a sub-optimal control strategy decrease. This work informs and motivates the need for future research exploring online learning algorithms to characterize vertical wind speed profiles.