Hi Chris,

NREL poses a nice challenge to the US AWE R&D Community to collaborate under their emerging leadership, in effect to run the AWES architectural horse race on their race-track, with their scientists as judges. As Jochem affirms, NREL starts "agnostic" with regard to solutions, and is eying the entire field, including AWEurope contenders.

Since 2009, kPower's major research focus (with EU partners in DE, UK, GR, and FR) is Kite Networks, as the ultimate AWES scaling strategy. This still has involved evaluating every possible unit-kite variant singly, while doing many simple multi-kite experiments with as little as two or a handful of unit-kites.

Potential km GW scale Kite Networks are a vast topological space we heuristically explore with regard to primary design constraints. At some upper scale limit (depending on wind-rose statistics), it becomes impractical to rotate a KN to face wind shifts, so we mostly explore iso-symmetric rigs topologically like spiderwebs ("SpiderMills", after Ockels), that simply tilt back from wind in any direction. These are envisioned to wobble more or less passively in a Dutch-Roll dynamic, with power extracted by crosswind legs.

We have been constructing "toy-scale" proof-of-concept iso-networks, but also looking toward simulation and other test methods. We have watched you work with printed scale models in a flume, and suppose that would be an ideal means to test many ideas fast, to effectively do mini-flyoff comparisons. The starting link below shows that embedding string nets in 3D unit-kite nodes would work, and greatly simplify model fabrication.

This note therefore is to ask if NC State CORE Lab is interested in partnering in global Kite Network research with its benchtop flume, 3D printing capability, and understanding of scaling-invariant analysis. Some attached slides convey the sort of iso-symmetric KN geometries to explore. Its expected you already intend testing many other concepts, and your list could come to include the full scope of world AWES research.

Thanks for any thoughts on new US collaborations and string-net 3D printed flume test capability, ahead of the upcoming NREL Workshop.

Best,

Dave Santos

"I know how to make efficient kite power using kites that could remain in the same location if the wind was constant.  And it could move to a new location if the wind changed.  And many other identical kites could be close but they would all be blown to new locations in unison like fields of wheat -- and they would never have to sit on a stand if the wind were to die -- they would just stay motionless until the wind would move them to a new location at which they could stay and make power -- and just using rope tethers without power conducting wires or cables.

stationary kites.  The methods I coud tell you could put hundreds of high altitude wind power machines in the same space because they would all be blown in synchrony with the wind -- kind of like wheat out in a field -- they don't collide they all bend in the wind in unison without impacting each other."                         
~ Wayne German

"The analogy between classical mechanical systems such as the ones demonstrated here and quantum and electromagnetic phenomena offer a new modality for developing more complex functions of phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials."             See:
One-Dimensional Mass-Spring Chains Supporting Elastic Waves with Non-Conventional Topology
by Pierre Deymier and Keith Runge