Abstract:
This paper represents preliminary engineering analysis
on the pendulum swing balloon system. It also describes an
analysis of measurements taken in the summer o.f 1982,
during a field test of a 37,000-foot3 balloon used as a
prototype model under static conditions. This work
established the influence of important variables on the
load lifting capabilities, the line tensions, and the
balloon movement.
Balloon movement does not appear to be a major
problem, for practical operating conditions it may be
considered to be fixed in position. Line tensions were
shown to conform with mathematical model predictions. The
payload that the system can support at any given load
position is a function of four variables: lift at the base
of the balloon, the haulback line angle, the pendulum line
angle, and the opposing guyline(s). Figures are used to
quantitatively show the relationships. Although the paper
is based on simplified mathematical models, static
conditions, and a field test that wasn't an exact scale
model, the results established an important understanding
of the engineering fundamentals of this system.
