Influences of initial launch conditions on flight performance of high altitude balloon ascending process

Zhang, Yi; Li, Dongxu

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2015.04.031

Cited by 20 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Overall, the ascent rate gradually increase until the balloon nears its float altitude which occurs after approximately 170 min. This qualitatively agrees with the dynamic model in Zhang and Liu (2015) which assumes constant C D . The relatively large variation of ascent rates below 3000 m may be due to meteorological conditions in the mixing layer as well as changes in the drag coefficient C D which depends on shape and Reynolds number.…”

Section: Filling and Launchsupporting

confidence: 88%

Methodology, Deployment, and Performance of Pico Balloons in Antarctica

McKinney

Perlaky

Crawford

et al. 2023

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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During the 2022/2023 Antarctic summer, eight pico balloon flights were depolyed from Neumayer Station III (70.6666° S, 8.2667° W), yielding valuable insights into the Antarctic stratospheric wind structure. Pico balloons maintain a lower altitude compared to larger super pressure balloons, floating between 9 to 15 km AMSL. The most impressive flight lasted an astounding 98 days, completing eight circumnavigations of the Southern Hemisphere. Throughout the flights, pico balloons encountered diverse air masses, displaying zonal velocities ranging from −50 to 250 km hr−1 and meridional velocities between ±100 km hr−1 . Total wind speeds observed were extensive, spanning from 2.0 to 270 km hr−1 . An significant finding revealed that lower-flying pico balloons could rise due to convection underneath the flight paths, influenced by high convective available potential energy environments, resulting in changes to the balloons’ float density. Moreover, the flights demonstrated that pico balloons tended to drift further south compared to larger stratospheric balloons, with some balloons reaching up to 8 degrees south of the equator and 2 degrees from the south pole. This article explores the pressure-testing process and deployment techniques for pico balloons, showcasing their transformation from inexpensive party balloons (costing less than 20 dollars) into efficient super pressure balloons. The logistical demands for pico balloon flights were minimal, with a single person transporting all materials for the balloons (excluding lifting gas) to the Antarctic continent in carry-on luggage. The authors aim to promote the application of pico balloons to a wider scientific community by demonstrating their usefulness.

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Section: Filling and Launchsupporting

confidence: 88%

Methodology, Deployment, and Performance of Pico Balloons in Antarctica

McKinney

Perlaky

Crawford

et al. 2023

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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“…The thermal environment of a near-space aerostat is complicated and consists of direct solar radiation, internal and external infrared radiation, scattered radiation, and internal and external convection [36], as depicted in Figure 4.…”

Section: Thermal Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The thermal environment of a near-space aerostat is complicated and con direct solar radiation, internal and external infrared radiation, scattered radiatio internal and external convection [36], as depicted in Figure 4. In this paper, the Earth standard atmosphere was used to analyze the t characteristics of the aerostat [37].…”

Section: Thermal Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Lifting Gas Diffusion on the Station-Keeping Performance of a Near-Space Aerostat

Ling

Lei

et al. 2022

Aerospace

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During the long-endurance flight of a near-space aerostat, the characteristics of lifting gas diffusion have a great influence on the flight altitude adjustment and station-keeping performance. Thus, in this study, a lifting gas diffusion model and a dynamic model that consider thermal effects, which had not been studied in similar models before, were developed. The dynamic model and thermal model were validated by historic flight data, and the calculated lifting gas diffusion results were compared with the experimental data of other researchers. The variations in the flight endurance, flight altitude, lifting gas diffusion rate, and diffusion coefficient of a near-space aerostat were analyzed. The effects of the ratio of porosity to tortuosity and envelope radiation properties on the mass of the lifting gas and flight altitude were considered in detail. To analyze the effect mechanism of the ratio of porosity to tortuosity and the envelope radiation properties, the envelope and gas temperature, as well as the gas pressure, were studied. The results show that the lifting gas diffusion rate and diffusion coefficient are very sensitive to the change in the ratio of porosity to tortuosity and envelope temperature. The results obtained from the analysis of the lifting gas diffusion can lay a solid foundation for improving the flight performance of near-space aerostats and for providing improved design considerations for aerostats.

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“…Reference [8] established the thermal analysis for flying bodies owing to its significant effect. Reference [9] presented the numerical and dynamical models describing the thermodynamic characteristics for high altitude balloons. Inflation quantity was considered a significant factor that affected on balloon ascending speed and differential pressure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floating Performance Analysis and Extended Lifetime for High Altitude Zero Pressure Balloon

Saleh¹

2016

IJMO

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Abstract-This paper presented modeling and simulation for zero pressure balloon trajectories. The simulation was validated by real flight data. Most effective parameters on altitude stability at floating area were investigated. Variation in temperature was the responsible mainly for change in altitude levels. Cloud cover was taken into consideration to demonstrate its influences on climbing rate during ascending and on altitude stability during floating altitude. Initial lift gas quantity was estimated and optimized. The necessary amount of ballast drops was optimized. Results showed the best launching time to improve balloon performance in floating area. Also, cloud cover was very important in balloon simulation and revealed a serious effect on floating altitude more than climbing rate in the ascending process. New estimation for lift gas quantity was useful to keep climbing rate almost constant and reasonable maintaining ascending without ballast drops to support longer lifetime aloft. Another aspect to enhance longer lifetime at floating altitude was the ballast mass consuming per night. It was optimized to avoid losses in ballast masses.Index Terms-High altitude balloons, ascending trajectory, lift gas, ballast mass.

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Influences of initial launch conditions on flight performance of high altitude balloon ascending process

Cited by 20 publications

References 25 publications

Methodology, Deployment, and Performance of Pico Balloons in Antarctica

Methodology, Deployment, and Performance of Pico Balloons in Antarctica

Effect of Lifting Gas Diffusion on the Station-Keeping Performance of a Near-Space Aerostat

Floating Performance Analysis and Extended Lifetime for High Altitude Zero Pressure Balloon

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