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Design and Testing of a Scale-Model Surface Undersea Kite

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Surface Undersea Kites (SUSK) is a concept for extracting energy from tidal flows. Existing work in Airborne Wind Energy and Tethered Undersea Kites has shown tethered kites to be a viable renewable energy technology in air and water currents. SUSK employs a tethered boat with a submerged, vertical wing rather than a fully submerged kite to eliminate underwater tether drag. A scale-model SUSK system has been designed and constructed using mainly 3D printed components. Dynamic simulations of the system have also been developed to obtain power estimates for the scale-model and full-size SUSK systems. The scale-model system was tested in a large water flume, and its performance was comparable to that predicted by the dynamic simulations. Recommendations are made to improve the SUSK design.

  • This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.
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  • E-project-042617-174247
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  • 2017
Date created
  • 2017-04-26
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