Experimental Calculation of Added Masses for the Accurate Construction of Airship Flight Models

In recent years, interest in airships for cargo transport and stratospheric platforms has increased, necessitating accurate dynamic modeling for stability analysis, autopilot design, and mission planning, specifically through the calculation of stability derivatives, like added mass and inertia. Des...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: López Rodríguez, Deibi, Domínguez Fernández, Diego, Delgado Marcos, Adrián, García Gutiérrez, Adrián, Gonzalo de Grado, Jesús
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Ajuntament de Barcelona
Repositorio:BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León
OAI Identifier:oai:buleria.unileon.es:10612/22948
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10612/22948
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Aeronáutica
Dynamic test
Wind tunnel
Virtual mass
Airship
Added mass
3301 Ingeniería y Tecnología Aeronáuticas
Descripción
Sumario:In recent years, interest in airships for cargo transport and stratospheric platforms has increased, necessitating accurate dynamic modeling for stability analysis, autopilot design, and mission planning, specifically through the calculation of stability derivatives, like added mass and inertia. Despite the several CFD methods and analytical solutions available to calculate added masses, experimental validation remains essential. This study introduces a novel methodology to measure these in a wind tunnel, comparing the results with prior studies that utilized towing tanks. The approach involves designing the test model and a crank-slider mechanism to generate motion within the wind tunnel, considering load cell sensitivity, precision, frequency range, and Reynolds numbers. A revolution ellipsoid model, made from extruded polystyrene, was used to validate analytical solutions. The test model, measuring 1 m in length with an aspect ratio of 6, weighing 482 g, was moved along rails by the crank-slider system. By increasing the motion frequency, structural vibrations affecting load cell measurements were minimized. Proper signal processing, including high-pass filtering and second-order Fourier series fitting, enabled successful virtual mass calculation, showing only a 2.1% deviation from theoretical values, significantly improving on previous studies with higher relative errors.