Pastor Rodríguez, AlejandroSánchez Arriaga, GonzaloSanjurjo Rivo, Manuel2021-03-182021-03-182017-08-01Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, (2017), 40(8), pp.: 1892-1901.0731-5090https://hdl.handle.net/10016/32171A systematic analysis of the role played by several physical mechanisms in the longitudinal stability of a tethered kite is presented. A simple model, which artificially constrains the pitch motion of the kite and approximates the tether by a massless and rigid bar, is improved progressively to include the kite pitch motion as well as the tether inertia, flexibility, wind load, and elasticity. The models are presented as compact sets of ordinary differential equations without algebraic constraints, which are explicitly eliminated by making an extensive use of Lagrangian mechanics. The contributions of each physical mechanism on kite stability are investigated separately, and a tradeoff between the complexity and computational costs of the models against their accuracy and reliability is carried out. The wind load on the tether is identified as a key effect stabilizing the steady state of the kites. The optimal bridle design and tether length selections to compute the kite ceiling are discussed.9eng© 2017 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. All requests for copying and permission to reprint should be submitted to CCC at www.copyright.com; employ the ISSN 0731-5090 (print) or 1533-3884 (online) to initiate your request. See also AIAA Rights and Permissions www.aiaa.org/randp.Power-generationUltimate tensile strengthTethered kitesLongitudinal stabilityLift coefficientKite tetherFinite element methodElectrodynamic tetherAirborne wind energyMathematical modelsAspect ratioresearch articleAeronáuticahttps://doi.org/10.2514/1.G002550open access189281901JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE CONTROL AND DYNAMICS40AR/0000020333