Model Of Airship Research Articles

L1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {L}}{}_{1}$$\\end{document} adaptive fault-tolerant control of stratospheric airships

As the utilization of stratospheric airships becomes more prevalent, ensuring their safe operation becomes crucial. This paper explores the ability of an L1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {L}}_{1}$$\\end{document} adaptive controller to maintain fault tolerance in the actuators of a stratospheric airship. L1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {L}}_{1}$$\\end{document} adaptive control offers fast adaptation while separating adaptation and robustness. This makes the approach a suitable candidate for fault-tolerant control. The performance of the proposed design is compared to the Linear Quadratic Integral and Adaptive Sliding Mode Backstepping controllers. Simulation results show that the robustness of the airship model against faults is improved with the use of the L1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {L}}{}_{1}$$\\end{document} adaptive controller.

Optimal tracking control for underactuated airship

A non-linear mathematical model of underactuated airship is derived in this paper based on Euler-Newton approach. The model is linearized with small disturbance theory, producing a linear time varying (LTV) model. The LTV model is verified by comparing its output response with the result of the nonlinear model for a given input signal. The verified LTV model is used in designing the LQT controller. The controller is designed to minimize the error between the output and required states response with acceptable control signals using a weighted cost function. Two LQT controllers are presented in this work based on two different costates transformations used in solving the differential Riccati equation (DRE). The first proposed assumption of costates transformation has a good tracking performance, but it is sensitive to the change of trajectory profile, whereas the second one overcomes this problem due to considering the trajectory dynamics. Therefore, the first assumption is performed across the whole trajectory tracking except for parts of trajectory profile changes where the second assumption is applied. The hybrid LQT controller is used and tested on circular, helical, and bowed trajectories. The simulation assured that the introduced hybrid controller results in improving airship performance.

Estimation of airship states and model uncertainties using nonlinear estimators

This Airships are lighter than air vehicles and due to their growing number of applications, they are becoming attractive for the research community. Most of the applications require an airship autonomous flight controller which needs an accurate model and state information. Usually, airship states are affected by noise and states information can be lost in the case of sensor's faults, while airship model is affected by model inaccuracies and model uncertainties. This paper presents the application of nonlinear and Bayesian estimators for estimating the states and model uncertainties of neutrally buoyant airship. It is considered that minimum sensor measurements are available, and data is corrupted with process and measurement noise. A novel lumped model uncertainty estimation approach is formulated where airship model is augmented with six extra state variables capturing the model uncertainty of the airship. The designed estimator estimates the airship model uncertainty along with its states. Nonlinear estimators, Extended Kalman Filter and Unscented Kalman Filter are designed for estimating airship attitude, linear velocities, angular velocities and model uncertainties. While Particle filter is designed for the estimation of airship attitude, linear velocities and angular velocities. Simulations have been performed using nonlinear 6-DOF simulation model of experimental airship for assessing the estimator performances. 1−𝜎 uncertainty bound and error analysis have been performed for the validation. A comparative study of the estimator's performances is also carried out.

Non-iterative reconstruction of time-domain sound pressure and rapid prediction of large-scale sound field based on IG-DRBEM and POD-RBF

In this paper, a novel non-iterative reconstruction method of time-domain sound pressure and rapid prediction scheme of large-scale sound field are proposed respectively based on the isogeometric dual reciprocity boundary element method (IG-DRBEM) and proper orthogonal decomposition - radial basis functions (POD-RBF). By establishing the non-iterative inversion theory in the meaning of least squares, infinite domain acoustic holography is achieved with a small number of measured sound pressure information. Furthermore, the POD-RBF network is adopted to predict large-scale sound pressure. The presented work further expands the scope of application of IG-DRBEM, and gives full play to its advantage of not having to calculate the coefficient matrix repeatedly when analyzing the sound field at different moments. Moreover, in order to satisfy the integral regularization conditions, a suitable convergence condition about variation coefficients is investigated. Numerical results show that the proposed method has high accuracy and good stability even when the sound pressure of complex airship model is predicted with large-scale freedom.

Autonomous Flight in Hover and Near-Hover for Thrust-Controlled Unmanned Airships

The ability of airships to fly in hover is a major plus of this category of flying vehicles. However, especially for the case of autonomous flight, this feature can be exploited only recurring to a carefully designed layout of the thrusters on board. Furthermore, the thrusters need to be suitably governed by a dedicated control algorithm. This paper explores a scheme for the control in hover of a thrust-controlled airship without thrust vector control, also assessing its effectiveness in near-hover positioning problems. The control scheme proposed herein extends the capability of a stability augmentation and guidance controller for forward flight, previously introduced by the authors for a conceptually similar airship. A control action based on a system of thrust forces required for hover, and additional thrust components for stabilizing and steering the airship in slow (near-hover) navigation, is thoroughly described. The ensuing control suite is applied and tested in the present paper on the high-fidelity virtual model of a five-thruster airship, showing reasonable stability levels and navigation accuracy of the controlled system.

Mapping Relationships Between Airship Original Design and Stability Modes

In this paper, we study the influence of an original airship design on its stability modes. Based on the verified model of the YEZ-2A airship, the Sobol sensitivities are calculated to filter the design parameters. The airship hull length, the slenderness ratio of the airship hull, the exponent of the tail, the fin installation position on the hull, and the fin half-span are found to be of large influences on all stability modes, whereas the stability modes are comparatively insensitive to the exponent of the bow and the fin relative thickness. The empirical formulas for mapping relationships are fitted to the experimental data and are verified by both sensitivities and root locus diagrams. The empirical formulas representing the mapping relationships between the original design parameters and the stability mode parameters of the airship can be used as references to simplify and estimate the stability and performance in the preliminary design of the airship.

Optimal shape design of an airship based on geometrical aerodynamic parameters

BackgroundConventional airship mathematical modeling usually involves six coupled degrees of freedom and two inputs, namely tail and thrust. The current study focuses on aerodynamic modeling. The aerodynamic model is developed in 3D-space based on plane semi-empirical model of a symmetric airship. The model depends on the main geometrical parameters of the airship. The study introduces an optimal shape design of the airship. The objective function is established to reduce drag and the effect of side flow and increases both lift force and pitching moment. Three types of airship shape construction are investigated, namely NPL, GNVR, and Wang.ResultsMATLAB genetic algorithm toolbox is used to obtain the optimal shape. The population size is 50 and the number of generations is also 50 for NPL, GNVR and Wang shapes at each corresponding angle of attack (alpha =left[ -20^circ ,20^circ right] ) and side-slip angle (beta =left[ -20^circ ,20^circ right] ). The shapes are compared to select the best fit within the operating range. To get the optimal shape, weighted averaging is performed on the optimal solution.ConclusionThe GNVR geometric construction technique is the best method to generate the optimum shape of the airship in the presence of side-slip angle effect with the utilized objective function that reduces drag and side flow and increases lift and pitching moment.

Energy efficiency assessment of photovoltaic array on the stratospheric airship under partial shading conditions

Accurate estimation of efficiency of airborne photovoltaic array on the airship has great significance for ensuring sufficient energy to stay in the stratosphere for months or a year. The solar irradiation and thermal model of the solar-powered airship have been studied. However, the interaction among the solar cells with different working conditions in the array has not been investigated. In this paper, the four main causes of nonuniform operating conditions including installation angle, angular losses, flight condition, and temperature are analyzed. The circuit simulation method is proposed, which determines the appropriate connection configuration of solar cells on the curved surface of airship at first. Then, the circuit analysis model of the connected solar array is built in Simulink. The I–V and P–V characteristic curves of the solar array are solved, and the maximum power point is tracked. The overestimation of output power and energy efficiency caused by using the empirical prediction model can be over 42.5%, and can be avoided by the proposed method in this paper. The work also provides an interesting reference for researchers to investigate reconfiguration and optimization of solar array on airship.

Construction on Aerodynamic Surrogate Model of Stratospheric Airship

Construction on Aerodynamic Surrogate Model of Stratospheric Airship

Methods of configuration test and deformation analysis for large airship

In recent years, high-altitude aerostats have been increasingly developed in the direction of multi-functionality and large size. Due to the large size and the high flexibility, new challenges for large aerostats have appeared in the configuration test and the deformation analysis. The methods of the configuration test and the deformation analysis for large airship have been researched and discussed. A tested method of the configuration, named internal scanning, is established to quickly obtain the spatial information of all surfaces for the large airship by the three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning technology. By using the surface wrap method, the configuration parameters of the large airship are calculated. According to the test data of the configuration, the structural dimensions such as the distances between the characteristic sections are measured. The method of the deformation analysis for the airship contains the algorithm of non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) and the finite element (FE) method. The algorithm of NURBS is used to obtain the reconfiguration model of the large airship. The seams are considered and the seam areas are divided. The FE model of the middle part of the large airship is established. The distributions of the stress and the strain for the large airship are obtained by the FE method. The position of the larger deformation for the airship is found.

Adaptive Backstepping Nonsingular Terminal Sliding-Mode Attitude Control of Flexible Airships with Actuator Faults

This paper studies the attitude tracking control of a flexible airship subjected to wind disturbances, actuator saturation and control surface faults. Efficient flexible airship models, including elastic deformation, rigid body motions, and their coupling, are established via Lagrange theory. A fast-nonsingular terminal sliding-mode (NTSM) combined with a backstepping control is proposed for the problem. The benefits of this approach are NTSM merits of high robustness, fast transient response, and finite time convergence, as well as the backstepping control in terms of globally asymptotic stability. However, the major limitation of the backstepping NTSM is that its design procedure is dependent on the prior knowledge of the bound values of the disturbance and faults. To overcome this limitation, a wind observer is designed to compensate for the effect of the wind disturbances, an anti-windup compensator is designed to compensate for actuator saturation, and an adaptive fault estimator is designed to estimate the faults of the control surfaces. Globally exponential stability of the closed-loop control system is guaranteed by using the Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, simulation results demonstrate effectiveness and advantages of the proposed control for the Skyship-500 flexible airship, even in the presence of unknown wind disturbances, control surface faults, and different stiffness variants.

Fractional-Order Sliding-Mode Fault-Tolerant Control of Unmanned Airship Against Actuator Faults

This paper proposes a fractional-order sliding-mode fault-tolerant control scheme for unmanned airship in the presence of actuator faults. In the control scheme, a control-oriented unmanned airship model is first developed by considering the unexpected actuator faults. Then, fractional-order calculus and sliding-mode control strategies are integrated to achieve refined fault-tolerant performance. Fixed-time sliding-mode disturbance observer is employed to estimate the fault-induced uncertainty. Moreover, Lyapunov stability analysis is conducted to show that the faulty unmanned airship can track the desired reference even in the presence of actuator faults. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Design and analysis of hybrid electric multi-lobed airship for cargo transportation

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.

Unscented Kalman filter for airship model uncertainties and wind disturbance estimation.

An airship is lighter than an air vehicle with enormous potential in applications such as communication, aerial inspection, border surveillance, and precision agriculture. An airship model is made up of dynamic, aerodynamic, aerostatic, and propulsive forces. However, the computation of aerodynamic forces remained a challenge. In addition to aerodynamic model deficiencies, airship mass matrix suffers from parameter variations. Moreover, due to the lighter-than-air nature, it is also susceptible to wind disturbances. These modeling issues are the key challenges in developing an efficient autonomous flight controller for an airship. This article proposes a unified estimation method for airship states, model uncertainties, and wind disturbance estimation using Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The proposed method is based on a lumped model uncertainty vector that unifies model uncertainties and wind disturbances in a single vector. The airship model is extended by incorporating six auxiliary state variables into the lumped model uncertainty vector. The performance of the proposed methodology is evaluated using a nonlinear simulation model of a custom-developed UETT airship and is validated by conducting a kind of error analysis. For comparative studies, EKF estimator is also developed. The results show the performance superiority of the proposed estimator over EKF; however, the proposed estimator is a bit expensive on computational grounds. However, as per the requirements of the current application, the proposed estimator can be a preferred choice.

Transport Airships for Scheduled Supply and Emergency Response in the Arctic

As climate change progresses, the Arctic Ocean creates opportunities for new resource development and navigation routes. Such economic opportunities are attractive, but carry with them an increased risk of accidents and oil spills. Existing methods of emergency response face enormous challenges in the Arctic because of its lack of transportation infrastructure and support services. Cargo airships offer a practical solution. Many airship designs are proposed that can carry over 30 tons, travel long distances at 150 km per hour, and land close to the emergency site. However, it is difficult to justify the economics of having enough capacity waiting and available to be marshaled in response to infrequent events. One solution is to develop a synergy with a new civilian cargo airship industry that can serve the regular transport needs of remote communities and mining operations. Through contingency contracts with these civilian operations, the Government of Canada could stretch its budgets and have access to the latest airship models and trained crews at locations across the Arctic. This paper gives valuable insight into the development of cargo airships. Advances in technology that make cargo airships a practical option in the 21st century are reviewed, and five competing airship designs are discussed. A case study of an existing rare earth mine proposal is used to illustrate the cost comparison of roads versus airships that could provide contingency services.

Envelope radiation characteristics of stratospheric airship

To investigate the envelope radiation characteristic of stratospheric airship, three kinds of airship models with different dimensions (fineness ratio of 3, 4, 5) are selected. After establishing the thermal equilibrium equations of the selected models, the influence of the envelope radiation characteristic on the envelope and airship gas is first addressed to determine the optimal fineness ratio by considering the flight dynamics characteristics. Furthermore, the effects of envelope emissivity, envelope absorptivity, solar cells radiation characteristics, and typical envelope materials on the envelope radiation characteristics of airship are discussed in depth. The results show that: (1) With the assumption of same absorptivity and emissivity, the larger the fineness ratio of the airship, the smaller the diurnal temperature difference of the main helium gasbag, and the better the thermal characteristics of airship as well. When the envelope radiation characteristics vary, the temperature difference of main helium gasbag with a fineness ratio of 4 in one day is always less than 1 K, compared with the fineness ratio of 5. However, the temperature difference of main helium gasbag with a fineness ratio of 3 exceeds that with the fineness ratio of 5, and reaches its maximum of 6 K. Therefore, the fineness ratio of 4 is regarded as optimal by considering the floating constraints of low drag and high buoyancy. (2) In the case of higher long-wave emissivity and lower short-wave absorptivity of the envelope material and solar cells, the diurnal helium temperature difference is the smallest, and the thermal performance of the aerostat is better. (3) Among the five typical envelope materials, i.e., white Tedlar film, white PU film, silver-plated Teflon film, aluminized PET film, and white PVF film, the aluminized PET film is more conducive to controlling the helium temperature difference and reducing the volume change of gasbags. The aforementioned results can provide a theoretical basis for improving the thermal performance of stratospheric airships.

Airship aerodynamic model estimation using unscented Kalman filter

An airship model is made-up of aerostatic, aerodynamic, dynamic, and propulsive forces and torques. Besides others, the computation of aerodynamic forces and torques is difficult. Usually, wind tunnel experimentation and potential flow theory are used for their calculations. However, the limitations of these methods pose difficulties in their accurate calculation. In this work, an online estimation scheme based on unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is proposed for their calculation. The proposed method introduces six auxiliary states for the complete aerodynamic model. UKF uses an extended model and provides an estimate of a complete state vector along with auxiliary states. The proposed method uses the minimum auxiliary state variables for the approximation of the complete aerodynamic model that makes it computationally less intensive. UKF estimation performance is evaluated by developing a nonlinear simulation environment for University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila (UETT) airship. Estimator performance is vali dated by performing the error analysis based on estimation error and 2-σ uncertainty bound. For the same problem, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is also implemented and its results are compared with UKF. The simulation results show that UKF successfully estimates the forces and torques due to the aerodynamic model with small estimation error and the comparative analysis with EKF shows that UKF improves the estimation results and also it is more suitable for the under-consideration problem.

Thermal design and optimization of the stratospheric airship equipment module

Stratospheric airship is a special air vehicle which suspended in the stratosphere for a long period of time, it can be used for military and civil investigation,observation, communication and other purposes to the Earth’s surface. Because its altitude is about 20 km,its thermal environment is different from normal aircrafts or spacecrafts. On the one hand,the solar heat flux during daytime and the heat source of the equipment require a good heat dissipation design of the airship;on the other hand,the radiation and convective heat exchange at night require a good thermal insulation design of the airship. The key thermal design of the airship is how to balance daytime heat dissipation and nighttime insulation. In this paper,the convective and radiative heat transfer model of a certain stratospheric airship is established based on the CFD simulation method,and the daytime and nighttime operating modes are analyzed. Three thermal design optimization schemes including compartmentalization,cooling holes, and fans are proposed and evaluated by simulation methods. The calculation results show that the thermal design margin in different operating modes of the airship can be effectively improved by controlling the fan operating, which provides a reference for future development of corresponding models.

On the development of a parametric aerodynamic model of a stratospheric airship

Following the current resurrection of large airship projects for stratospheric flight, a first-order potential flow panel method is presented to calculate pressure coefficients on a parametrically defined airship. Airships need three-dimensional grid definitions that often make difficult the execution of simple codes for preliminary results. A mesh-generation mechanism, appropriate for panel methods, is developed considering the different characteristic lengths of hull and fins. Thick and thin panels are defined, combined and properly attached among them to model the airship shape and the wake discontinuity surface. The classical formulation has been customised to both efficiently solve the potential problem and to derive interesting variables such as local velocity and surface pressure. After individual validations with thick ellipsoids and flat wings respectively, the solutions for the full vehicle are compared to tunnel tests of a representative airship body (Gertler 4154 Series 58) with fins. Pressure coefficient distribution and pitch moment coefficients of the body are predicted with very high accuracy. Even using only less than 4000 panels, overall error is smaller than about 5% and essentially null for the first half of the body. Furthermore, the speed of the problem setup and the solver make the development very appropriate to analyse preliminary designs under different flight conditions.

Recovery trajectory optimization of the solar-powered stratospheric airship for the station-keeping mission

Recently, the station-keeping of the stratospheric airship is an attractive topic due to its application to provide long-endurance communication and surveillance services. The motion of the stratospheric airship is sensitive to the wind because of the characteristics of large volume and low airspeed. When the wind speed exceeds the maximum airspeed, the airship may float out of the given station-keeping region. In such a case, how to recover to the station-keeping site is a necessary problem to consider. In this paper, the recovery trajectory optimization of the stratospheric airship is discussed and the purpose is to find the economical recovery flight trajectory to the station-keeping site. The trajectory optimization model is established by considering the motion model of the stratospheric airship, the atmospheric model, the wind field model, the solar radiation model, and the thermal model. To represent the exploitation of solar energy during the flight, the solar radiation collection problem is modeled for the airship whose hull is approximated by the double-ellipsoid geometry. Then the recovery trajectory optimization problem is formulated with constraints consideration and three recovery flight scenarios are put forward. The trajectory optimization problem is transformed into the nonlinear programming problem (NLP) by the orthogonal collocation and can be solved by the off-the-shelf NLP solver. The accuracy of the solution is improved by a modified ph-adaptive mesh refinement method. Two study cases are carried out to make a profound study of the recovery flight problem. In the first case, the basic characteristics of the flight trajectories using different recovery flight scenarios are compared and analyzed. Then the influence of the solar position on the recovery trajectory is discussed in the second case, which also gives some insights on the flight characteristics of the solar-powered stratospheric airship. The results of this paper may provide some important references for the station-keeping application of the stratospheric airship.