Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital WPI Major Qualifying Projects (All Years) Major Qualifying Projects April 2012 Design of a Kite-Powered Water Pump and Airborne Wind Turbine Andrew Ross Lybarger Worcester Polytechnic Institute Daniel Joseph Nyren Worcester Polytechnic Institute Jennifer M. Gill Worcester Polytechnic Institute John William Wilder Worcester Polytechnic Institute Kyle Steven Bartosik Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/mqp-all Repository Citation Lybarger, A. R., Nyren, D. J., Gill, J. M., Wilder, J. W., & Bartosik, K. S. (2012). Design of a Kite-Powered Water Pump and Airborne Wind Turbine. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/mqp-all/2406 This Unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Major Qualifying Projects at Digital WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Major Qualifying Projects (All Years) by an authorized administrator of Digital WPI. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract The goal of this project was two-fold, to adapt the existing WPI Kite Power System to pump water, and to develop a new airborne energy system that harvests electricity from the wind using a turbine suspended from a large kite. This project is a continuation of ongoing research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the area of using high altitude kites to extract energy from the wind. These high altitude kites can operate at higher altitudes than wind turbines where there is an increase in wind speed and therefore, available power. The main objectives of the water pump project were to retrofit the existing WPI Kite Power System with a low-cost mechanical water pump for use in developing nations, and to build and test a head simulation valve that can simulate deeper well depths for use in system testing.