Publication

Earwig-inspired foldable origami wing for micro air vehicle gliding

Publications associées (27)

Method for wind harvesting and wind rejection in flying drones

Dario Floreano, Victor Casas Rochel, Nathan Samuel Müller, Charalampos Vourtsis, William John Stewart

The present invention concerns a method of manoeuvring a vertical take-off and landing, unmanned aerial drone (100) comprising at least an aerodynamic surface (101), wherein, during a flight of the drone, the aerodynamic surface generates lift and/or drag ...

2024

Improvements to the dynamic wake meandering model by incorporating the turbulent Schmidt number

Fernando Porté Agel, Corey Dean Markfort, Peter Andreas Brugger

Predictions of the dynamic wake meandering model (DWMM) were compared to flow measurements of a scanning Doppler lidar mounted on the nacelle of a utility-scale wind turbine. We observed that the wake meandering strength of the DWMM agrees better with the ...

2024

Towards an improved understanding of wind turbine wakes in complex terrain

Arslan Salim Dar

In this thesis, we explored the effect of certain terrain-induced flow phenomena on the development of wind turbines sited in complex terrain. A combined experimental and analytical approach is used to study wind turbine wakes in different types of complex ...

EPFL2024

Comparison of selected surface level ERA5 variables against in‐situ observations in the continental Arctic

Jules Gros-Daillon, Julia Schmale, Jakob Boyd Pernov

In this study, data from 17 ground-based, continental Arctic observatories areused to evaluate the performance of the European Centre for Medium-RangeWeather Forecasts Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5) reanalysis model. Three aspectsare evaluated: (i) the overal ...

2024

Modular Multiplatform Compatible Air Measurement System (MoMuCAMS): a new modular platform for boundary layer aerosol and trace gas vertical measurements in extreme environments

Roman Pohorsky, Julia Schmale, Andrea Baccarini

The Modular Multiplatform Compatible Air Measurement System (MoMuCAMS) is a newly developed in situ aerosol and trace gas measurement platform for lower-atmospheric vertical profiling. MoMuCAMS has been primarily designed to be attached to a Helikite, a ru ...

2024

Understanding snow saltation parameterizations: lessons from theory, experiments and numerical simulations

Michael Lehning, Daniela Brito Melo, Armin Sigmund

Drifting and blowing snow are important features in polar and high mountain regions. They control the surface mass balance in windy conditions and influence sublimation of snow and ice surfaces. Despite their importance, model representations in weather an ...

2024

Snowfall deposition in mountainous terrain: a statistical downscaling scheme from high-resolution model data on simulated topographies

Michael Lehning

One of the primary causes of non-uniform snowfall deposition on the ground in mountainous regions is the preferential deposition of snow, which results from the interaction of near-surface winds with topography and snow particles. However, producing high-r ...

Frontiers Media Sa2024

Intermediate complexity atmospheric modeling in complex terrain: is it right?

Michael Lehning, Dylan Stewart Reynolds, Michael Haugeneder

Dynamic downscaling of atmospheric forcing data to the hectometer resolution has shown increases in accuracy for landsurface models, but at great computational cost. Here we present a validation of a novel intermediate complexity atmospheric model, HICAR, ...

Frontiers Media Sa2024

Lumped Drag Model Identification and Real-Time External Force Detection for Rotary-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

Alcherio Martinoli, Lucas Cédric Wälti

This work focuses on understanding and identifying the drag forces applied to a rotary-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). We propose a lumped drag model that concisely describes the aerodynamical forces the MAV is subject to, with a minimal set of parameters ...

IEEE2024

The Influence of the Planetary Boundary Layer on the Atmospheric State at an Orographic Site at the Eastern Mediterranean

Athanasios Nenes, Romanos Foskinis, Kunfeng Gao

We studied the influence of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) on the air masses sampled at the mountaintop Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change station ((HAC) 2 ) at Mount Helmos (Greece) during the Cloud-AerosoL InteractionS in the Helmos back ...

Stockholm Univ Press2024

Enhancing Wind Farm Performance through Axial Induction and Tilt Control: Insights from Wind Tunnel Experiments

Fernando Porté Agel, Guillem Armengol Barcos

Static axial induction control and tilt control are two strategies that have the potential to increase power production in wind farms, mitigating wake effects and increasing the available power for downstream turbines. In this study, wind tunnel experiment ...

MDPI2024

Power performance of a model floating wind turbine subjected to cyclic pitch motion: A wind tunnel study

Fernando Porté Agel, Guiyue Duan, Daniele Gattari

Wind tunnel experiments were performed with a miniature floating wind turbine model to study the effects of cyclic pitch motion on its power performance. The cyclic pitch motion was prescribed by two key parameters: pitch frequency and amplitude. The power ...

IOPscience2024

Wind turbine wake superposition under pressure gradient

Fernando Porté Agel, Arslan Salim Dar

We investigate the effect of pressure gradient on the cumulative wake of multiple turbines in wind tunnel experiments spanning across a range of adverse pressure gradient (APG), zero pressure gradient (ZPG), and favorable pressure gradient (FPG). Compared ...

2024

Good enough: Intermediate complexity atmospheric models improve the representation of processes affecting seasonal snow

Dylan Stewart Reynolds

Snow plays a crucial role in processes regulating ecosystems, the climate, and human development. Mountain snowpack in particular has great relevance for downstream communities. Knowledge about the distribution and properties of the snowpack thus help in p ...

EPFL2024

Accurate and agile flight with winged drones

Valentin Wüest

Drones hold promise to assist in civilian tasks. To realize this application, future drones must operate within large cities, covering large distances while navigating within cluttered urban landscapes. The increased efficiency of winged drones over rotary ...

EPFL2024

Turbulence and Heat exchange in the Near-Surface Boundary Layer over Patchy Snow

Michael Haugeneder

The atmospheric layer adjacent to the earth's surface is of crucial importance for weather models due to the exchange of energy between the surface and the atmosphere. This exchange is dependent on the various surface properties and influences the state of ...

EPFL2024

The effect of nacelle-to-rotor size on the wake of a miniature wind turbine

Fernando Porté Agel, Arslan Salim Dar, Rim Majzoub

Wind tunnel experiments are performed to investigate the effect of nacelle-to-rotor size on the wake of a wind turbine under different Reynolds numbers. Four different turbine configurations are tested, which vary in the rotor diameter and nacelle length a ...

IOP Science2024

The effects of kinematics, flexibility, and planform on the vortex formation and aerodynamic performance of flapping wing flight

Alexander Gehrke

In this thesis, the aerodynamic challenges in flapping wing flight are addressed. In particular, the effects of different wing kinematics, flexibilities, and planforms on the the leading edge vortex development and aerodynamic performance are investigated. ...

EPFL2023

Natural slicks on Lake Geneva: From small-scale effects to large-scale formation and distribution

Mehrshad Foroughan

Low wind speeds (< 4 m/s) are ubiquitous in many water bodies, yet the physical processes occurring at the air-water interface in this range are poorly understood. A notable example is smooth patches on the water surface, known as natural slicks, formed wh ...

EPFL2023

Wind Defiant Morphing Drones

Dario Floreano, Victor Casas Rochel, Nathan Samuel Müller, Charalampos Vourtsis, William John Stewart

Intense winds are a challenge for vertical take-off and landing drones with wings. In particular, in the hovering regime, wings are sensitive to wind currents that can be detrimental to their operational and energetic performances. Tail-sitters are particu ...

2023