Sunrise: Solar Powered Thermal Airship
Abstract |
Inspiration |
Method |
Result
| Presentation Video
Abstract
Aerostats are lighter than air vehicles that do not require any energy consumption to stay in the air. In comparison, Aerodynes are winged aircrafts that rapidly consume energy in order to stay airborne. Although Aerostats are more efficient, safe and the environmental friendly method of flying during long flights at lower speed, today, aerodynes are used in these kinds of missions due to the lack of suitable and accessible Aerostats.
Inspiration
Aerostats do not need the kinetic activity to generate the lifting force like Aerodynes, as its neutral state is already airborne without the consumption of energy. The small amount of energy to propel Aerostats can easily be harvested from solar radiance. This fundamental difference between Aerostats and Aerodynes is often overlooked by the flight industry and thus inspired my degree project.
Method
The objective of this project is to design an airborne structure that uses the most efficient technologies to generate lifting force, harvest energy from solar radiance, generate motion and store the energy received. Following detailed technical research and analysis, forgotten technologies, such as Stirling engines, fly-wheel energy storage, and thermal balloon structure, emerged. Through modifications of these old technologies to increase performance, an efficient flight concept was developed. The concept was reviewed through the internet by engineers to evaluate its feasibility. An interactive workshop was conducted to understand people's perceptions and feelings toward flying. After numerous visualizations through sketching, CAD modeling was used for designing the structure and components.
Result
Sunrise is a thermal airship that is completely solar powered, designed to accomplish aerial missions based on low speeds and long flight duration. Missions include: patrolling, filming, observations, expeditions, and recreational usage. Despite its low performance compared to expensive-Helium, Sunrise's usage of hot-air as its lifting gas, significantly reduces operational costs. The hot-air can be deflated for free, which consequently removes the need for huge storage hangars or ground infrastructure. Fresnel Lens, located inside the balloon, concentrates the sunlight into a focal point to produce hot air. A 2-axis sun tracking system allows for the lens to constantly face the sun. Motion is generated through the Stirling Engines, fueled by this hot air. Then the system mixes hot and colder air in the lower section of the balloon to create a homogeneous lifting gas. Beyond being a buoyant device, the well insulated balloon also acts as heat energy storage.This enables extra flight time for moments without sunlight. Any extra energy is then transformed into motion and stored in a flywheel as rotational motion. To ascend or descend, a change in the forward propulsion up or down, respectively, is done. As in traditional balloons, this system removes the need to change the amount of buoyant gas during altitude adjustments.