Numerical Trajectory Optimization for Airborne Wind Energy Systems Describred by High-Fidelity Aircraft Models

Book chapter, 2013

In order to study design tradeoffs in the development of an AWE system, it is useful to develop a code to optimize a trajectory for arbitrary objective function and constraints.We present a procedure for using direct collocation to optimize such a trajectory where a model is specified as a set of differential-algebraic equations. The six degree of freedom single-kite, pumping-mode AWE model developed in Chap. 10 is summarized, and two typical periodic optimal control problems are formulated and solved: maximum power and number of cycles per retraction. Finally a procedure for optimally transitioning between two fixed trajectories is presented.