Airborne Wind Energy Tethers with High-Modulus Polyethylene Fibers

Airborne Wind Energy tethers are a critical component in many AWE systems. There are many diverse systems that are currently under development, this chapter focusses on tethers for the so called pumping Yo–Yo system. In these systems the tether is the critical component for transfer of kinetic energy from kite to ground station. Given the desired hardware and performance expectations, this chapter provides a first estimation of the tether dimensions for a tether made of HMPE fibers. Especially creep and bending fatigue considerations are described for long term performance checks. Other conditions that may influence the longevity of the tether are briefly mentioned, but since firm testing data is lacking, it is recommended to perform these checks on case by case basis.