Abstract
This paper focuses on an investigation of the dynamic characteristics of a spherical aerostat on a single tether. A portable test facility was constructed to gather experimental data required to characterize the system. All experiments were in the supercritical range, at Reynolds numbers greater than 3.7 × 10. The balloon’s drag coefficient was determined based on position measurements. The balloon’s large oscillations and surface roughness, combined with the wind turbulence, resulted in a substantial increase in the drag coefficient. To further study the system, a numerical simulation was developed. The aerostat is modeled as a rigid body attached to a tether, and is subject to buoyancy, aerodynamic drag and gravity. The tether is modeled using a lumped-mass approach, while includes stiffness and damping. The dynamics simulation of the system is obtained by formulating the equations of motion of the aerostat and the cable nodes in 3D space and integrating them numerically. The simulation is then validated by comparing its results with experimental data. Finally, a modal analysis of the natural modes of the system is performed.
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