Development of a super-pressure balloon with a diamond-shaped net

The essential reason of the lobed-pumpkin shaped super-pressure balloon to withstand against the high pressure is that the local curvature of the balloon film is kept small. Recently, it has been found that the small local curvature can also be obtained if the balloon is covered by a diamond-shaped net with a vertically elongated shape. The development of the super-pressure balloon using this method was started from a 3-m balloon with a polyethylene film covered by a net using Kevlar ropes. The ground inflation test showed the expected high burst pressure. Then, a 6-m and a 12-m balloon using a polyethylene film and a net using the Vectran were developed and stable deployment was checked through the ground inflation tests. The flight test of a 3000 m³ balloon was performed in 2013 and shown to resist a pressure of at least 400 Pa. In the future, after testing a new design to relax a possible stress concentration around the polar area, test flights of scaled balloons will be performed gradually enlarging their size. The goal is to launch a 300,000 m³ super-pressure balloon.     

Properties of tandem balloons connected by extendable suspension wires

The tandem balloon system has been known as a candidate system for long duration flight balloons. In this paper, the properties of the system are analytically studied in a new way by introducing an extendable suspension wire in the Sky Anchor configuration, which consists of a zero-pressure main balloon suspending a payload and a super-pressure balloon suspended below the payload. It was found that extension of the suspension wire between the payload and the super-pressure balloon can extend the capability of the tandem system; the altitude of the zero-pressure balloon can be changed without any consumables except some energy, and the day–night oscillation of the balloon altitude can be suppressed. This property is useful as the vehicle for long duration flights. It is also pointed out that the method to control the altitude of a balloon using an additional suspended super-pressure balloon can also be applied for super-pressure balloons.     

Evolution of scientific ballooning and its impact on astrophysics research

As we celebrate the centennial year of the discovery of cosmic rays on a manned balloon, it seems appropriate to reflect on the evolution of ballooning and its scientific impact. Balloons have been used for scientific research since they were invented in France more than 200 years ago. Ballooning was revolutionized in 1950 with the introduction of the so-called natural shape balloon with integral load tapes. This basic design has been used with more or less continuously improved materials for scientific balloon flights for more than a half century, including long-duration balloon (LDB) flights around Antarctica for the past two decades. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently developing the next generation super-pressure balloon that would enable extended duration missions above 99.5% of the Earth’s atmosphere at any latitude. The Astro2010 Decadal Survey report supports super-pressure balloon development and the giant step forward it offers with ultra-long-duration balloon (ULDB) flights at constant altitudes for about 100 days.     

高空气球综合/开放式设计系统

开发了一种新架构的高空气球设计系统,引入了综合性、开放式的设计理念,采用面向对象的整合方法,包含了自定义开发、多Agent基线比选等开放性设计功能,通过实例证明了该系统不仅可以进行模型建立、性能分析、费用评估等分析结果综合评价,还使方案设计与数字加工、飞行仿真等实际应用结合在一起.     

Studies of thin film nonlinear viscoelasticity for superpressure balloons

In order to provide scientists with a stratospheric platform from which to conduct long duration research, a superpressure balloon is desired which will maintain a relatively constant volume for weeks at a time. The pumpkin shaped balloon has been developed by making use of the surface lobing to limit the circumferential stress and meridional tendons to carry the loads in the other direction. However, in order to prevent geometric instabilities during deployment and after pressurization, the design should eliminate as much excess material as possible while not exceeding the permissible stresses of the material. This paper will describe the behavior of the very thin membrane material selected for this application and the limits of the film in a biaxial state of stress. In addition, it is shown that the viscoelastic nature of the film will limit the stress by causing a reduced radius of curvature in the lobe of the pumpkin.     

低平流层温度对银河系宇宙线强度变化的响应

选用芬兰中子堆监测站从lop年7月至1989年3月的宇宙线强度月平均曲线数据,和在相对应期间我国境内海拉尔等4个高空气象观测站的30hPa和100hPa等位势高度上常规气温观测月平均资料,经统计分析,取得初步结果：低平流层气温与银河系宇宙线辐射强度之间呈现负相关的特性;与银河系宇宙线辐射强度峰区和谷区相对应会在低平流层中引起幅值为2-3℃的温度变化;不同纬度观测站所得观测数据表明,上述增温幅值随纬度降低而减少。     

Viscoelastic behaviour of pumpkin balloons

The lobes of the NASA ULDB pumpkin-shaped super-pressure balloons are made of a thin polymeric film that shows considerable time-dependent behaviour. A nonlinear viscoelastic model based on experimental measurements has been recently established for this film. This paper presents a simulation of the viscoelastic behaviour of ULDB balloons with the finite element software ABAQUS. First, the standard viscoelastic modelling capabilities available in ABAQUS are examined, but are found of limited accuracy even for the case of simple uniaxial creep tests on ULDB films. Then, a nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model is implemented by means of a user-defined subroutine. This approach is verified by means of biaxial creep experiments on pressurized cylinders and is found to be accurate provided that the film anisotropy is also included in the model. A preliminary set of predictions for a single lobe of a ULDB is presented at the end of the paper. It indicates that time-dependent effects in a balloon structure can lead to significant stress redistribution and large increases in the transverse strains in the lobes.     

Investigation on the MLT tidal variability during September 2019 minor sudden stratospheric warming

Tidal variability in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) during September 2019 Southern hemisphere minor sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is investigated utilizing ground-based meteor radar wind observations from the equatorial, extratropical, middle, and high latitude stations and global reanalysis dataset. The polar warming is found to move from the mesosphere to the stratosphere until the peak warming day (PWD) of the SSW. The diurnal and semidiurnal tides at individual observational sites do not exhibit any consistent response during the observational interval, but a notable and consistent variability in some specific zonal wavenumber components, i. e., DW1 (migrating diurnal tide), DE3 (nonmigrating eastward wavenumber 3 diurnal tide), and SW2 (migrating semidiurnal tide) is found in the global reanalysis dataset. Incidentally, the warming event occurs during Spring equinox when a dominant seasonal change in the tidal activities generally takes place and hence seasonal variability is also looked into while identifying the SSW impact during the observational interval. It is found that the seasonal broad changes in the DW1, DE3, and SW2 amplitudes can be explained by the variability in the tidal sources, i.e., water vapor, convective activity, ozone, etc during the observational period. However, the extracted short-term variability in the global tidal modes on removing seasonal trend reveals noticeable response in connection with the warming event. The deseasoned amplitude of the DW1 significantly enhances around the PWD at most of the present latitudes. The deseasoned DE3 amplitude responds significantly in the middle atmosphere at low latitudes during the warming phase. The deseasoned SW2 exhibit clear enhancement around the PWD at all the latitudes. However, the deseasoned tidal features do not seem to correlate well with that of the source species unlike the seasonal ones that imply involvement of complex processes during the warming event, seeking further future investigations in this regard.     

Mechanical properties of ANTRIX balloon film and fabrication of single cap large volume balloons

The zero pressure plastic balloons used for high altitude studies are generally made from polyethylene material. Tensile properties of the thin film polymer are the key parameters for material selection due to extremely low temperature of −90 °C encountered by the balloons in the tropopause region during the ascent at equatorial latitudes. The physical and structural properties of the material determine the uniformity of the stress distribution over the entire shell. Load stresses from the suspended load propagate via load tapes heat sealed along with the gore seals as per the balloon design. A balance between this heat seal strength and the film strength is a desirable property of the basic resin in terms of the bubble strength, gauge uniformity, and long-term storage properties. In addition, the design of the top shell of the balloon and its stress distribution play an important role since only a fraction of the balloon is deployed during the filling operation and the ascent. In this paper we describe the mechanical properties of the ‘ANTRIX’ film developed by us and the optimized design of single cap balloons, which have been successfully used in our experiments over the past 5 years.     

平流层飞艇螺旋桨相似准则分析与验证

根据螺旋桨相似理论,选择等Re数和等前进比作为一组相似准则.通过数值模拟验证该相似准则组合的正确性和适用性,着重研究密度对螺旋桨相似性参数的影响,并将螺旋桨数值计算结果与缩比模型地面常规密度风洞试验的有关结果进行了对比分析.结果表明:数值模拟的不同工作高度下螺旋桨无量纲气动力系数相互重合,螺旋桨数值计算结果和地面风洞试验结果基本吻合,表明在所选择的相似准则下,密度基本不影响螺旋桨相似性参数.平流层飞艇螺旋桨可以在地面常规密度风洞中按照等Re和等前进比相似准则进行缩比模型试验,为平流层螺旋桨的试验研究提供参考依据.     

一类平流层飞艇质量和惯量特性的计算方法与分析

针对一类具有双拼椭球体外形的平流层飞艇,根据适当假设,给出该类飞艇质量和惯量特性的解析计算方法.以飞艇上升过程为例,通过仿真计算给出该过程飞艇质量、质心位置和转动惯量的变化曲线,结合理论分析,验证该计算方法的合理性.最后,简要分析了质量和惯量特性变化对飞艇运动稳定性和能控性的影响.     

系缆气球的气动力估算和配平计算

从飞行力学分析的角度,用传统的气动力估算方式对具有倒\"Y\"型尾翼的系缆气球的气动力特性进行估算.考虑气球与系缆的综合系统,建立系缆气球平衡方程并进行配平计算.在不同的风速条件下,采用牛顿下降梯度法迭代求解非线性代数方程组形式的系缆气球平衡方程.通过不同风速及不同系缆位置的平衡状态的对比分析,确认系缆的最佳悬挂位置.      

基于压差梯度的平流层飞艇艇囊应力计算和仿真

平流层飞艇体积庞大,艇囊表面曲率小,因而蒙皮材料的局部应力集中极易导致飞艇艇囊蒙皮发生过大变形而迅速超压损伤破坏.基于飞艇艇囊内外压力压差梯度载荷条件,建立飞艇艇囊蒙皮受内外压差真实工况下环向与轴向应力的理论计算模型,构建飞艇蒙皮应力分析的Von Mises强度准则.并采用ABAQUS有限元软件非线性仿真艇囊蒙皮分别在超压300,500,800 Pa载荷下的各点环向的Von Mises应力状况.仿真结果与理论模型计算的应力值基本保持一致,飞艇艇囊蒙皮环向Von Mises应力呈现随压差梯度增大而递增的规律,而轴向Von Mises应力大小由环向Von Mises应力、蒙皮局部经纬向曲率共同决定,且两方向的Von Mises应力均与超压载荷大小成正相关关系,为飞艇艇囊蒙皮超压应力评估和强度计算提供基础性研究.     

平流层飞艇巡航姿态自适应神经网络补偿控制

 研究了一种基于自适应神经网络补偿的平流层飞艇前向速度与姿态控制系统设计方法。针对近似模型进行常规线性动态补偿器设计,并引入自适应径向基函数(Radial Basis Function, RBF)神经网络对模型误差进行补偿。根据Lyapunov方法得到神经网络权值自适应律,保证了闭环系统误差信号一致最终有界。该控制器设计对模型参数信息仅有较少的要求。仿真结果表明对于两类不同的飞艇模型,所设计的控制器在响应性及对未知环境风速作用的鲁棒性方面均具有良好的效果。