This book provides in-depth coverage of the latest research and development activities concerning innovative wind energy technologies intended to replace fossil fuels on an economical basis. A characteristic feature of the various conversion concepts discussed is the use of tethered flying devices to substantially reduce the material consumption per installed unit and to access wind energy at higher altitudes, where the wind is more consistent. The introductory chapter describes the emergence and economic dimension of airborne wind energy. Focusing on “Fundamentals, Modeling & Simulation”, Part I includes six contributions that describe quasi-steady as well as dynamic models and simulations of airborne wind energy systems or individual components. Shifting the spotlight to “Control, Optimization & Flight State Measurement”, Part II combines one chapter on measurement techniques with five chapters on control of kite and ground stations, and two chapters on optimization. Part III on “Concept Design & Analysis” includes three chapters that present and analyze novel harvesting concepts as well as two chapters on system component design. Part IV, which centers on “Implemented Concepts”, presents five chapters on established system concepts and one chapter about a subsystem for automatic launching and landing of kites. In closing, Part V focuses with four chapters on “Technology Deployment” related to market and financing strategies, as well as on regulation and the environment. The book builds on the success of the first volume “Airborne Wind Energy” (Springer, 2013), and offers a self-contained reference guide for researchers, scientists, professionals and students. The respective chapters were contributed by a broad variety of authors: academics, practicing engineers and inventors, all of whom are experts in their respective fields.

Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations Comprehensively covers research and development initiatives to enhance the environmental sustainability of the??aviation sector Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations provides a comprehensive and timely outlook of recent research advances in aeronautics and air transport, with emphasis on both long-term sustainable development goals and current achievements. This book discusses some of the most promising advances in aircraft technologies, air traffic management and systems engineering methodologies for sustainable aviation. The topics covered include: propulsion, aerodynamics, avionics, structures, materials, airspace management, biofuels and sustainable lifecycle management. The physical processes associated with various aircraft emissions — including air pollutants, noise and contrails — are presented to support the development of computational models for aircraft design, flight path optimization and environmental impact assessment. Relevant advances in systems engineering and lifecycle management processes are also covered, bridging some of the existing gaps between academic research and industry best practices. A collection of research case studies complements the book, highlighting opportunities for a timely uptake of the most promising technologies, towards a more efficient and environmentally sustainable aviation future. Key features: Contains important research and industry relevant contributions from world-class experts. Addresses recent advances in aviation sustainability including multidisciplinary design approaches and multi-objective operational optimisation methods. Includes a number of research case studies, addressing propulsion, aerostructures, alternative aviation fuels, avionics, air traffic management, and sustainable lifecycle management solutions. Sustainable Aviation Technology and Operations is an excellent book for aerospace engineers, aviation scientists, researchers and graduate students involved in the field.

The concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has gained significant attention recently. In this vibrant domain, the capability of generating an optimal flight trajectory is of essential importance. This study aims to provide analytical solutions to generate the optimal trajectory in the three most common UAM scenarios. The first case is the comfort-optimal trajectory for drone package delivery and air taxis carrying passengers. The cost is evaluated as a linear combination of acceleration (or specific support force) and flight time. The second case is the control-effort-optimal trajectory for hovering vehicles. Hovering vehicles are expected to be the dominant model of air taxi. The objective function is a linear combination of thrust and flight time. The third case is the Direct-Operating-Cost (DOC) optimal trajectory for electric fixed-wing aircraft, on which all major aerospace companies are working. DOC is a linear combination of energy consumption and flight time. The trajectory optimization problems are formulated as optimal control problems and the Pontryagen's Minimum Principle is applied to solve them. The solution is the reference position as a function of time, which is a guidance law and is fed to the downstream flight controller. The biggest advantage of an analytical solution is to reduce the computational time. It can also be integrated with other flight path planning methods. Several simulation examples will be presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.