A Novel Composite Modeling Method to Analyze the Woven Fabric Structures of Leading-Edge Inflatable Kites

For several years, kites have been representing an innovative technology in the maritime sector to reduce the fuel consumption through an auxiliary propulsion or producing energy onboard. Regarding the continuous increase in kite sizes, one of the main objectives is to determine whether a leading-edge inflatable kite and its components will be able to withstand the pressure field induced by the aerodynamic load. Therefore, an accurate identification of stress fields in them is required by designers. For this aim, a fluid-structure interaction method was developed by coupling a 3D nonlinear lifting-line model with the Abaqus™ 2017 finite-element software tools. Within this framework, a structural analysis was performed for a kite made of a woven fabric by employing the thin-layer finite-element technique for its weak bending properties. This modeling method is new and is not available in the Abaqus™.