Abstract
Balloons made by cut fabric pieces are widely used in space research. To predict the blasting pressure of a balloon, we propose a novel method based on the non-contact test strain at a low internal pressure. The three-dimensional digital image correlation technique is introduced to measure the surface strain of the balloon. Representative regions of the balloon are selected as the test regions. A correction factor is proposed that accounts for the relationship between the internal pressure and the surface strain for the actual and the ideal balloon. By combining the maximum surface strain at a given internal pressure and the correction factor, we can predict the blasting pressure of the balloon. A blasting test is carried out to verify the feasibility of the predictive method. When the value of the ratio of the maximum test strain to the limiting strain reaches about a reference value, the absolute value of the deviation percentage between the predicted blasting pressure and the actual blasting pressure is less than 10%. The blasting pressure for balloon can be predicted accurately. This method does not require the balloon to be inflated to a high internal pressure, which improves the practicality of the prediction.
Highlights
Balloons made by cut fabric pieces are widely used in space research
The factors that influence the accuracy of the predictive method are discussed
The balloon is made by cut fabric pieces
Summary
Balloons made by cut fabric pieces are widely used in space research. The blasting pressure of balloons is one of the important indicators of their usefulness. The representative test regions, including the equatorial seam, the north– south poles, and the 60° of north–south latitude, of the balloon are selected. The strains of these three regions basically reflect the situation of the balloon. The maximum value of the surface strain is obtained to predict the blasting pressure of the balloon. The test results show that the maximum first principal strain of the regions of the equatorial seams and the north–south poles is less than 0.506%, which indicates that the two regions of the balloon are relatively safe. By using the results of the noncontact test strain, we propose a method to predict the actual blasting pressure of the balloon. By using the maximum test strain at 8.2-kPa internal pressure, the 54.1-kPa blasting pressure of the balloon is predicted
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