Attitude tracking control of a GroundGen airborne wind energy system

An existing attitude tracking control method developed for a FlyGen airborne wind energy (AWE) system is extended to control a GroundGen AWE system. The GroundGen system produces energy through kite-generated aerodynamic forces that tension a flexible tether attached between the kite center of gravity and a ground generator system. The kite is modelled using a six degree of freedom aircraft dynamics model. We first provide an extension of a previously developed attitude tracking theorem which shows the possibility of simultaneously tracking both the effective angle of attack and sideslip angle on the kite. A detailed aerodynamic model with empirical airfoil data and three dimensional wing tip effects is included. A feedback linearization controller is designed, and a baseline simulation is studied for confirming the tracking behavior.