ROTATION OF BALLOONS AT FLOATING ALTITUDE

Abstract

The use of high altitude balloons as stable platforms for meteorological and astronomical observatories necessitates an investigation of the dynamic behavior of balloons. This report deals with the azimuthal rotations of the balloon-gondola system. The aerodynamic damping and inertia of the system have been mathematically formulated and experimentally verified. The forcing torque, mostly aerodynamic in nature, has been described and its order of magnitude had been estimated for known balloon rotations. These rotations have been alleviated in the past by control systems which orient the gondola by reaction torques applied to the balloon. The aerodynamic parameters which are evaluated in this report can be useful in the design of such a control system.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0426834

Entities

People

  • A. E. Germeles
  • E. R. Benton
  • R. M. Lucas

Organizations

  • Arthur D. Little

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Angular Acceleration
  • Angular Momentum
  • Astronomical Observatories
  • Bearings
  • Boundary Layer
  • Control Systems
  • Convection
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • High Altitude
  • Layers
  • Military Research
  • Moment Of Inertia
  • Observatories
  • Physics
  • Reynolds Number

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Fault Tolerant Diagnosis of Black and White Balloon Isolation Tests Using ¥.
  • Systems Analysis and Design