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Hybrid airship denotes one kind of aircraft that combines the use of aerodynamic and buoyant lift. It is supposed to achieve the best combination of the high speed characteristics of the airplane and the heavy lifting capacity of the airship. In this work, an improved flight performance analysis method for hybrid airship is proposed, aiming to prov...
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... Very few attempts (e.g., [25,26]) have been made focusing on the conceptual design of winged airships. There are other studies that have focused on design optimization [18], flight performance analysis [27,28], stability analysis [29,30], and fabrication methods to develop models for wind tunnel testings [17] of winged hybrid airships. To the author's knowledge, however, there is no study available in open literature focusing on the multidisciplinary design optimization of a winged hybrid airship. ...
In recent years, hybrid airships have been identified as promising alternatives for high altitude, long endurance missions. In this study, a design methodology to study the feasibility of winged hybrid airship powered by solar energy is presented. The proposed methodology involves five disciplines of the airship, viz., Geometry, Aerodynamics, Environment, Energy and Structures have been coupled in order to develop an optimum design which incorporates the maximum advantages of the modules. A total of fourteen design variables have been finalized, which are required to carry out the sizing of the envelope, wing, and solar panel layout. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is implemented to carry out optimization of a user-defined fitness function for given user-defined operating conditions. The optimization study is subjected to general constraints of weight balance and energy balance. Optimal solutions have been obtained for two different configurations. These are - conventional airship and winged hybrid airship. The solutions have been obtained for four different days of the year, in order to analyse any potential benefits and pitfalls of the two configurations for the varying conditions over the course of one year. The results obtained are generally found to be in excellent agreement with the imposed constraints. The winged hybrid airship configuration was found to have offered no significant benefits in comparison to the conventional configuration. The analysis of the key parameters and data values readily supports this conclusion.
... In the study, an approach to calculate the solar energy being generated by the photovoltaic cells on complex hull profiles was presented. Zhang et al. [10,11] presented an analysis of the performance of the flight of a hybrid airship. The study utilized a hybrid airship comprising of a normal ellipsoidal hull and an attached wing structure, thereby generating both aerostatic (buoyant) and aerodynamic lift. ...
Though a lot of curiosity has been developed towards a sustainable mode of cargo transportation, multi-lobed hybrid airships are touted to be a viable alternative to the conventional aircraft. The advantages of these Lighter Than Air (LTA) vehicles can further be boosted by incorporating a renewable source of energy. The requirements of high power in cargo airships and the current technological barriers call for the development of a hybrid propulsion system that can couple the best of both conventional and electric propulsion. The electric propulsion system is established by integrating solar arrays with fuel cells, which is then combined with conventional engines in a parallel power train architecture ensuring minimum transfer of energy and compact size. A solar irradiance model is adopted, to evaluate the amount of energy generated by the solar arrays installed over the airship envelope. A multi-lobed hybrid airship model is presented whose aerodynamic characteristics are obtained using computational fluid dynamic tools, which are then utilized to evaluate the power requirements through flight performance analysis. The hybrid propulsion system is then modified in accord with the power needs of the hybrid airship. Finally, detailed weight distribution between hybrid-powered and conventional hybrid-airship is presented displaying significant reduction in fuel weight of ~350 kg due to the hybrid propulsion system.
... Very few attempts (e.g., [25,26]) have been made focusing on the conceptual design of winged airships. There are other studies that have focused on design optimization [18], flight performance analysis [27,28], stability analysis [29,30], and fabrication methods to develop models for wind tunnel testings [17] of winged hybrid airships. To the author's knowledge, however, there is no study available in open literature focusing on the multidisciplinary design optimization of a winged hybrid airship. ...
This study aims to aid the development of the design process of a preliminary design of a hybrid buoyant (HB) airship. In recent years, HB airships have been identified as promising alternatives for high altitude, long endurance missions. In this study, the four modules of the HB airship, viz., Geometric, Aerodynamic, Environment, and Energy have been coupled in order to develop an optimum design which incorporates the maximum advantages of the modules. A total of 14 design variables have been finalized, which are required to carry out the sizing of the hull, wing, and solar panel layout. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is implemented to carry out optimization of a user-defined fitness function for given user-defined operating conditions. The optimization study is subjected to general constraints of weight balance and energy balance. Solutions are obtained for different geographical locations and different seasons in order to realize the sensitivities of the design variables to varying atmospheric and operating conditions.
... In the case of conventional aircraft, half of the fuel is used to keep it aloft, whereas the use of aerostatic lift in hybrid buoyant aircraft has the potential to reduce the amount of fuel required to keep the aircraft aloft (Prentice & Knotts, 2014). Hybrid buoyant aircraft combine the aerodynamic (similar to conventional aircraft) and aerostatic lift (similar to airships) and are considered the ''best of the both worlds'' by Zhang, Han, and Song (2009). Helium is commonly used as the lifting gas to provide buoyant lift. ...
Hybrid buoyant aircraft are new to the arena of air travel. They have the potential to boost the industry by leveraging new emerging lighter-than-air (LTA) and heavier-than-air (HTA) technologies. Hybrid buoyant aircraft are possible substitutes for jet and turbo-propeller aircraft currently utilized in aviation, and this manuscript is a country-specific (Malaysia) analysis to determine their potential market, assessing the tourism, business, agricultural, and airport transfer needs of such vehicles. A political, economic, social, and technological factors (PEST) analysis was also conducted to determine the impact of PEST parameters on the development of buoyant aircraft and to assess all existing problems of short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft. Hybrid buoyant aircraft will not only result in reduction of transportation costs, but will also improve the economic conditions of the region. New airworthiness regulations can lead to greater levels of competition in the development of hybrid buoyant aircraft.
... In addition to traditional methods, e.g., mathe-matical resolution3738 , for effectiveness analysis, virtual simulation has attracted more and more attention. As mentioned in Ref. [37], virtual simulation is a key measure to realize lower costs and lower risks in large military projects and is also in accord with the trend of weapon acquisition [39] . ...
In order to take requirements for commercial operations or military missions into better consideration in new flight vehicle design, a tri-hierarchical task classification model of “design for operation” is proposed, which takes basic man-object interaction task, complex collaborative operation and large-scale joint operation into account. The corresponding general architecture of evaluation criteria is also depicted. Then a virtual simulation-based approach to implement the evaluations at three hierarchy levels is mainly analyzed with a detailed example, which validates the feasibility and effectiveness of evaluation architecture. Finally, extending the virtual simulation architecture from design to operation training is discussed.
Hybrid Airships (HAs) are being touted as an efficient aerial platform for various applications involving heavy cargo transportation, communications, scientific exploration, observation, and surveillance in the stratosphere. Hybrid airship technologies have developed significantly from mid-20th century onwards, and promise to offer unique operational advantages over conventional airships. The purpose of this review paper is to explore the concepts of hybrid airship designs that have been proposed in the recent past, and highlight the current state-of-the-art in this field. Major milestones in the development of hybrid airships are presented followed by the description of types of hybrid airships and their distinct features. This review paper focuses on dynastat type of hybrid airships, since they seem to be the most promising version of hybrid airships owing to the simplicity in their designs, and suitability for various civil and military applications. The characteristics of two types of dynastat, viz., winged-hull and multiple-hull are discussed in detail. The different aspects of the conceptual design and key disciplines including aerodynamics, dynamics, performance, thermal characteristics, structure, and optimization involved in the design of hybrid airships are reviewed in detail.
With the growth of global trade, the market of global freight transportation is increasing. Due to the combination of aerodynamic and buoyant lift, the hybrid air vehicle (HAV) is very suitable for long-distance transport of heavy loads. To achieve a long distance transportation, the HAV is designed to own large size and surface area, which causes the HAV to receive a lot of solar radiation and the resulting thermal effects have an important impact on its flight performance and safety. Meanwhile, complex configuration and solar array covered on the surface of HAV also affect its thermal performance. A co-simulation of thermal model, output power model and dynamic model of the HAV is carried out to investigate effects of flight time, location, attitude and relative wind speed on its temperature and output power during long-distance transportation across different latitudes and longitudes. The results are expected to provide references for future development of the HAV using in long-distance transport of large cargoes.
An increasing focus on hybrid airships and the developments in renewable energies has allowed a methodology for conceptual design and analysis to be described. After a model presented and its aerodynamic characteristics obtained through a computational fluid dynamics method, two types of hybrid airships, solar powered at high altitudes and hydrogen powered for cargo, are demonstrated using a wing loading as their independent variable. Then the constraints determining the design point are presented. Parametric estimates of two types for component mass are then illustrated on distribution diagrams. And the sensitivity of wing loading and its effects on hybrid airships are discussed.
