A challenging technology for harvesting wind energy at high altitude

风速随地面高度呈指数增加。因此，较高的海拔是提取风能的更好位置，因为它与风速的立方成正比。本研究旨在研发利用两种机载风轮在高空收集风能，以及利用聚合物纤维系绳的扭转弹性变形进行能量传递的方法。在本研究中，我们构造了两种机载风轮，测量了风轮作用下系绳的扭矩和张力，并与模型分析进行了比较，以检验风轮的性能。结果表明，该风力机在高空风能采集方面具有良好的应用前景。我们还研究了用真空辅助树脂传递模塑(VARTM)制造的碳纤维增强塑料(CFRP)的材料性能，以制造飞机风轮。

Wind velocity increases exponentially with altitude from the ground. Hence, higher altitude is much better location to extract wind energy since it is proportional to the cube of the velocity. This study aims research and development for harvesting wind energy at high altitude using two types of airbone wind rotors and the energy transfer method using the torsional elastic deformation of polymeric fiber tether ropes. In this study, we constructed two types of airbone wind rotors and measured torque and tension of the tether ropes induced by the wind rotor, and also made a comparison with a model analysis to examine the performance of the wind rotor. The results suggested that the constructed wind rotor has a promising structure for harvesting wind energy at high altitude. We also studied the material properties of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) manufactured with a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VaRTM) to construct the airbone wind rotors.