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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Temporal and spatial stochastic behaviour of high-frequency slant tropospheric delays from simulations and real GPS data

In this paper, a turbulence theory-based simulation procedure for slant tropospheric delay variations is presented. Based on this procedure tropospheric delay variations are simulated for three different geometric scenarios. The stochastic behaviour of the generated time series is assessed in terms of temporal structure functions. It is shown that the temporal structure functions – in general – follow a 5/3 to 2/3 power-law behaviour. Deviations from this behaviour due to the complex interaction between varying observation geometry and atmospheric/turbulent conditions are discussed.     

Viscoelastic characterization of polymers for deployable composite booms

Deployable space structures are being built from thin-walled fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials due to their high specific strength, high specific stiffness, and designed bistability. However, the inherent viscoelastic behavior of the resin matrix can cause dimensional instability when the composite is stored under strain. The extended time of stowage between assembly and deployment in space can result in performance degradation and in the worst case, mission failure. In this study, the viscoelastic properties of candidate commercial polymers consisting of difunctional and tetrafunctional epoxies and thermoplastic and thermosetting polyimides were evaluated for deployable boom structures of solar sails. Stress relaxation master curves of the candidate polymers were used to predict the relaxation that would occur in 1 year at room temperature under relatively low strains of about 0.1%. A bismaleimide (BMI) showed less stress relaxation (about 20%) than the baseline novolac epoxy (about 50%). Carbon fiber composites fabricated with the BMI resin showed a 44% improvement in resistance to relaxation compared to the baseline epoxy composite.     

Structure of the migrating diurnal tide in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM)

As part of an ongoing effort to understand the migrating diurnal tide generated by the NCAR Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, version 3 (WACCM3), we compare the WACCM3 migrating diurnal tide in the horizontal wind and temperature fields to similar results from the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM). The WACCM3 diurnal tidal wind fields are also compared to tropical radar measurements at Kauai (22°N, 200.2°E) and Rarotonga (21.3°S, 199.7°E). The large-scale features of the WACCM3 results, such as the global spatial structure and the semiannual amplitude variation are in general agreement with past tidal studies; however, several differences do exist. WACCM3 exhibits a much higher degree of hemispheric asymmetry, lower overall amplitudes around the equinoxes, and peaks which are more confined in latitude when compared with the GSWM. Factors which may contribute to such differences between WACCM3 and GSWM are the solar heating profiles from ozone and water vapor, dissipation, and the zonal mean zonal winds. We find that the internally generated heating in WACCM3 and eddy dissipation values are both smaller than the values specified in the GSWM; the eddy dissipation fields and zonal mean zonal winds of the two models also display measurable differences in spatial structure. Comparisons with radar data show several differences in spatial and seasonal structure. In particular, the diurnal tide zonal winds in WACCM3 above Kauai are considerably larger in amplitude than those observed in the radar data, due to contributions from nonmigrating tidal components including wave numbers eastward 1 through 3, westward 2, and stationary components, which interfere constructively with the migrating component around equinox in WACCM3.     

Long-term (50 years) measurements of cosmic ray fluxes in the atmosphere

Since the middle of 1957 till present time the group of researchers of P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has carried out the regular balloon borne measurements of charged particle fluxes in the atmosphere. The measurements are performed at polar (northern and southern) and middle latitudes and cover the interval of heights from the ground level up to 30–35 km. Standard detectors of particles (gas-discharged counters) have been used. More than 80,000 measurements of cosmic ray fluxes in the atmosphere have been performed to the present time. In the data analysis the geomagnetic field and the Earth’s atmosphere are used as cosmic ray spectrometers.     

Study of seasonal variation of winds in upper stratosphere over Hyderabad

A predictability of the stratospheric zonal winds above 38 km during the turnaround is an essential parameter for planning of the high-altitude scientific balloon flights. This information is more relevant in the case of Hyderabad balloon facility which is closer to equator and has much more unstable wind reversal patterns which appears to have changed enormously during the last decade probably in correlation with the global warming. With a majority of our flights reaching the altitudes of 38–42 km and the requirement of long float durations, a prior knowledge of wind pattern during the summer and winter turnaround seasons is highly desirable. Furthermore, the flight operation corridor for balloon flights from Hyderabad is limited to 400 km and though in the west direction there are flat lands, in all other three directions, the landscape is dotted by water bodies, reserve forests and hilly terrain, and therefore need of such a data is essential. In order to establish the climatology of the stratospheric winds and study their inter-annual variability over Hyderabad for the turnaround periods, we have made a detailed analysis of the United Kingdom Meteorological office data between 2000 and 2007, to derive average wind parameters (magnitude, direction) at different ceiling altitudes above 38 km. These results can be used only as general trend of stratospheric wind and should not be the limitation of the UKMO Data.     

The role of volcanic aerosols and relativistic electrons in modulating winter storm vorticity

Small changes in the vorticity of winter storms, responding to solar wind variations, are found in winters from 1957 to 2011, and are greater for winters with higher levels of stratospheric volcanic aerosols. Using 1993–2011 data, the response of the vorticity area index (VAI) is shown to be of larger amplitude when the days of minima in the relativistic electron flux (REF) precipitating from the radiation belts are used, instead of heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings, as key days in superposed epoch analyses. The HCS crossings mostly occur within a few days of the REF minima. The VAI is an objective measure of the area of high cyclonic vorticity, and for the present work is derived from ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses of global meteorological data. The VAI dependencies on the stratospheric aerosol content (SAC) and the REF are consistent with a model in which the ionosphere-earth current density (J_z) affects cloud microphysics. One of the ways in which J_z is modulated is by changes in stratospheric column resistance (S), which is increased by stratospheric aerosols. Because S is in series with the tropospheric column resistance (T), J_z modulation by REF requires that S be not negligible with respect to T. So the J_z modulation and the VAI response appear when the SAC is very high, or the REF reductions (which also increase S) are very deep, and when the product of the SAC and the reciprocal of the REF exceeds a threshold value dependent on T.     

A model for calculating the vertical distribution of the atmospheric electric potential in the exchange layer in a maritime clean atmosphere

A theoretical model is developed for calculating the vertical distribution of atmospheric electric potential in exchange layer of maritime clean atmosphere. The transport of space charge in electrode layer acts as a convective generator in this model and plays a major role in determining potential distribution in vertical. Eddy diffusion is the main mechanism responsible for the distribution of space charge in vertical. Our results show that potential at a particular level increases with increase in the strength of eddy diffusion under similar conditions. A method is suggested to estimate columnar resistance, the ionospheric potential and the vertical atmospheric electric potential distribution in exchange layer from measurements of total air-earth current density and surface electric field made over oceans. The results are validated and found to be in very good agreement with the previous aircraft measurements. Different parameters involved in the proposed methodology can be determined either theoretically, as in the present work, or experimentally using the near surface atmospheric electrical measurements or using some other surface-based measurement technique such as LIDAR. A graphical relationship between the atmospheric eddy diffusion coefficient and height of exchange layer obtained from atmospheric electrical approach, is reported.     

Validation of the operational IASI level 2 processor using AIRS and ECMWF data

The algorithms being implemented in EUMETSAT’s IASI Level 2 Product Processing Facility are validated with real case situations using AIRS data and comparing the retrieved atmospheric states with ECMWF analyses. The tests have been performed for clear-sky ocean scenes during daytime.

The Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) retrievals show very good performance, with retrieved atmospheric states standard deviations between 1 and 2 K in temperature and 10% and 20% in relative humidity when compared with ECMWF analysis in the troposphere. The EOF retrievals show relatively smooth profiles.

Results from an iterative retrieval show a standard deviation between 2 and 3 K in temperature and 10% and 30% in relative humidity when compared with ECMWF analyses in the troposphere. They tend to show meteorologically reasonable discontinuities in both temperature and relative humidity. This seems to be the reason why they do not compare as well with ECMWF analyses as the EOF retrievals do. Whether they are closer to reality or not will have to be tested with co-located radiosondes or similar more accurate data, which generally do not exhibit such smooth vertical profiles as ECMWF analyses do.     

Improvement of the ADEOS-II/GLI sun-glint algorithm using concomitant microwave scatterometer-derived wind data

The tendency of over-estimation of sun-glint reflectance was found in GLI satellite ocean color data, after applying the traditional sun-glint model of Cox and Munk together with objective analysis wind data. ADEOS-II has provided a good opportunity to improve the glint model using data measured by GLI and SeaWinds, both onboard the satellite. With the help of simultaneous wind measurements achieved by SeaWinds, the Cox and Munk model is re-evaluated using GLI measurements to obtain a new relationship between the surface mean square slope and wind. The new model was found to be very close to the Cox and Munk under moderate wind speed but is much different under calm condition, where it shows similarity to the result reported by Ebuchi and Kizu. It also improves the ocean color data availability and the precision of sun-glint reflectance, based on the evaluation result of the generated Level 3 data products.     

Inner radiation belt source of helium and heavy hydrogen isotopes

Nuclear interactions between inner zone protons and atoms in the upper atmosphere provide the main source of energetic H and He isotopes nuclei in the radiation belt. This paper reports on the specified calculations of these isotope intensities using various inner zone proton intensity models (AP-8 and SAMPEX/PET PSB97), the atmosphere drift-averaged composition and density model MSIS-90, and cross-sections of the interaction processes from the GNASH nuclear model code. To calculate drift-averaged densities and energy losses of secondaries, the particles were tracked in the geomagnetic field (modelled through IGRF-95) by integrating numerically the equation of the motion. The calculations take into account the kinematics of nuclear interactions along the whole trajectory of trapped proton. The comparison with new data obtained from the experiments on board RESURS-04 and MITA satellites and with data from SAMPEX and CRRES satellites taken during different phases of solar activity shows that the upper atmosphere is a sufficient source for inner zone helium and heavy hydrogen isotopes. The calculation results are energy spectra and angular distributions of light nuclear isotopes in the inner radiation belt that may be used to develop helium inner radiation belt model and to evaluate their contribution to SEU (single event upset) rates.     

Physical mechanism of the vertical electric field generation over active tectonic faults

The concept of the Global Electric Circuit (GEC) provides an explanation of the existence of a vertical atmospheric electric field and coupling between the ground and ionosphere. Presently, ionospheric physics pays more attention to electric fields and coupling processes in the polar and auroral regions, whereas in other areas the potential difference between the ground and ionosphere usually is not taken into account. Regional processes exist, however, that are able to significantly affect the GEC parameters and through modification of the ionospheric potential to create plasma density irregularities of different scales within the ionosphere. One such source of ionosphere modification is air ionization in the vicinity of active tectonic faults, which takes place due to increased radon emanation. This paper considers the process of local modification of the GEC and corresponding ionospheric variability due to tectonic activity.     

Performance of GPS-based accelerometry: A simulation experiment

Recent studies have shown that with the availability of high-quality CHAMP and GRACE gravity field models, it is feasible to determine accurate non-gravitational accelerations for low Earth orbiting satellites indirectly from precise GPS satellite-to-satellite observations. Possible applications of this so-called GPS-based accelerometry approach consist of accelerometer calibration and atmospheric density and wind computations. With the growing number of high-quality space-borne GPS receivers, this method could be applied to a large range of satellites. In this paper an extensive simulation study has been carried out, based on real accelerometer data from the GRACE mission, in order to determine the optimal processing strategy and the resulting accuracy of the estimated non-gravitational accelerations. It is shown that the optimal processing strategy consists of a piecewise linear parameterization of the estimated empirical accelerations, together with short 6-h orbit arcs. The GPS-based accelerometry approach makes use of triple-differenced GPS observations and the impact of considering the correlated observation noise was found to be marginal in the presence of other error sources such as GPS ephemeris errors. Using a priori non-gravitational force models improves the recovery of low temporal resolution accelerations, except during huge geomagnetic storms. With this strategy, non-gravitational accelerations can be recovered during high solar activity with an accuracy of better than 10% of the total signal in along-track direction and around 25–40% in cross-track direction, at time resolutions of around 8–20 min. During solar minimum conditions, the relative recovery error will increase to approximately 50% in along-track direction and around 60–70% in cross-track direction, due to the reduced atmospheric drag signal. Unfortunately, GPS-based accelerometry is hardly sensitive in the radial direction.     

High-fidelity geometry models for improving the consistency of CHAMP,GRACE, GOCE and Swarm thermospheric density data sets

During the last two decades, accelerometers on board of the CHAMP, GRACE, GOCE and Swarm satellites have provided high-resolution thermosphere density data to improve our knowledge on atmospheric dynamics and coupling processes in the thermosphere-ionosphere region. Most users of the data have focused on relative density variations. Scale differences between datasets and models have been largely neglected or removed using ad hoc scale factors. The origin of these scale differences arises from errors in the aerodynamic modelling, specifically in the modelling of the satellite outer surface geometry and of the gas-surface interactions. Therefore, the first step to remove the scale differences is to enhance the geometry modelling. This work forms the foundation for the future improvement of characterization of satellite aerodynamics and gas-surface interactions models at TU Delft, as well as for extending the use of sideways and angular accelerations in the aerodynamic analysis of accelerations and derivation of thermosphere datasets. Although work to improve geometry and aerodynamic force models by other authors has focused on CHAMP and GRACE, this paper includes the GOCE and Swarm satellites as well. In addition, it uses a density determination algorithm that is valid for arbitrary attitude orientations, enabling a validation making use of attitude manoeuvres. The results show an improvement in the consistency of density data between these four missions, and of data obtained before, during and after attitude manoeuvres of CHAMP and Swarm. The new models result in larger densities, compared to the previously used panel method. The largest average rescaling of density, by switching to the new geometry models is reached for Swarm at 32%, the smallest for GRACE at 5%. For CHAMP and GOCE, mean differences of 11% and 9% are obtained respectively. In this paper, an overview of the improvements and comparisons of data sets is provided together with an introduction to the next research phase on the gas-surface interactions.     

A numerical model approximating extreme energetic electron events involved in the physical and chemical processes of the middle atmosphere

Relativistic electrons (with energies >150 keV) which originate in the outer radiation belt and detected by the Russian ‘Meteor’ series of satellites have been correlated with the atmospheric total ozone data compiled by almost 90 stations located around the world within the latitude zone 40°–70°N. In more than 60% of the stations examined we have detected a clear decrease of the ozone 3–5 days after the electron flux excess. A numerical model has been applied to approximate this effect based on relativistic electron initiated nitric oxides creation in the upper mesosphere with subsequent atmospheric transport (both vertical and horizontal) towards the upper stratosphere. A first attempt of local and temporal prediction of ozone depletion because of energetic electrons impact in the middle atmosphere has been illustrated.