Upwind dynamic soaring of albatrosses and UAVs

Albatrosses have been observed to soar in an upwind direction using what is called here an upwind mode of dynamic soaring. The upwind mode was modeled using the dynamics of a two-layer Rayleigh cycle in which the lower layer has zero velocity and the upper layer has a uniform wind speed of W. The upwind mode consists of a climb across the wind-shear layer headed upwind, a 90° turn and descent across the wind-shear layer perpendicular to the wind, followed by a 90° turn into the wind. The increase of airspeed gained from crossing the wind-shear layer headed upwind was balanced by the decrease of airspeed caused by drag. Results show that a wandering albatross can soar over the ocean in an upwind direction at a mean speed of 8.4 m/s in a 3.6 m/s wind, which is the minimum wind speed necessary for sustained dynamic soaring. A main result is that albatrosses can soar upwind much faster than the wind speed. Furthermore, albatrosses were found to be able to increase upwind speeds in winds greater than 3.6 m/s, reaching an upwind speed of 12.1 m/s in a wind speed of 7 m/s (for example). wind dynamic soaring mode of a possible robotic albatross UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) was modeled using a Rayleigh cycle and characteristics of a high-performance glider. Maximum possible airspeeds are equal to approximately 9.5 times the wind speed of the upper layer. In a wind of 10 m/s, the maximum possible upwind (56 m/s) and across-wind (61 m/s) components of UAV velocity over the ocean result in a diagonal upwind velocity of 83 m/s. In sufficient wind, a UAV could, in principle, use fast diagonal speeds to rapidly survey large areas of the ocean surface and the marine boundary layer. In practice, the maximum speeds of a UAV soaring over the ocean could be significantly less than these predictions. Some limitations to achieving fast travel velocities over the ocean are discussed and suggestions are made for further studies to test the concept of a robotic albatross.