The document outlines research and development efforts on lighter-than-air systems, specifically focusing on airship design and optimization at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. It details completed tasks such as prototype development, feasibility studies for airships in India, and knowledge-based engineering approaches for airship design. Additionally, it covers various projects, including aerial ferry designs and aerostat systems, showcasing methodologies for structural and aerodynamic analysis.

1. R&D of Lighter – than – air systems
Amool A Raina
Project Engineer
Aerospace Engineering Department
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
April 23rd , 2009 R&D @ LTA IITB

2. Research Work undertaken
PADD Program Multi disciplinary Trans Brahmaputra
Shape Optimization Airship Ferry
E-Gift Aerostat Analysis of Airships Knowledge based
Program using FSI tools Engineering Approach
for Airship Design

3. Initial review and Study Projects

4. Program on Airship Design & Development
PADD

5. Program on Airship Design & Development
 Establish Feasibility
 Operation, Design & Development of Airships in India
 Promote Usage
 Multiple roles; Pax/Cargo, CasEvac, Tourism, ………
 Develop Technology Base
 Enhance existing expertise in Parachutes & Aerostats
 Explore avenues of Joint Development
 National & Global Partners
 Private Sector participation

6. Tasks Completed in PADD
 Project Definition Report for Development of
 Demo airship & PaxCargo Airship
 Payload = 100 kg & 1500 kg
 @ Hot (ISA+15) and High (3500 m) conditions
 Operation at lower altitudes to be explored
 Establishing feasibility of leasing a few
airships

7. Pax/ Cargo
Airship
Prototype Models
Demo Airship
Demo Airship
Suspension car

8. Design, Fabrication & Testing of Remotely
Controlled Airships
As a part of ongoing PADD Project

9. Micro Airship
Volume = 6.8 m3
Payload = ~ 1 kg
Max. Speed = 25 km/h
Endurance = 15 min with 200 ml fuel
No. of Flight days = 4 at IIT Gymkhana

10. Mini Airship
Volume = 8.64 m3
Payload = ~3.0 kg
Max. Speed = 36 kmph
Endurance = 15 mins with 300
ml fuel
No. of Flight days = 6 at Pune,
Bangalore, Coimbatore

11. Shape Optimization of Aerostat
Envelopes
Sponsored by ADRDE, Agra

12. Multi disciplinary Shape Optimization
 Axis-symmetric Bodies of
Revolution with application to
airship and aerostat
envelopes
 Three Disciplines
 Aerodynamics
 Structures
 Manufacturability
20th December

13. Results of Initial studies
GNVR
Least Drag
Least Surface
Least Stress
Overall Best
Profile
20th December

14. Core projects undertaken and
completed

15. E- Gift Aerostat Design Project
Sponsored by One World South Asia
20th December
2007

16. Schematic of Aerostat Communication
System
Aerostat
Omni Directional
Base Antenna
10km
50-100m
Client
antenna
PoE Cable
Router Board Winch with
Power Supply LTA
20th December

17. Envelope Profile
Profile
Aerostat Profile with Petal and Fin Fin Geometry
Single Petal
12.00 Single Petal Bottom
Petal Weld Margin
10.00
8.00
Radius (m)
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00
Length (m)

18. Tether Profile under wind loading
120.00
100.00 15 m/s
10 m/s
5 m/s
80.00
Height (m)
60.00
40.00
20.00
0.00
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00
Blowby (m)

19. Fin Geometry
4.000
3.500
NACA 0018 Root
NACA 0018 Tip
Fin Elevation
3.000 Spar1
Spar 2
Spar 3
Spar 4
2.500 Spar 5
Spar 6
Spar 7
Spar 8
2.000 Spar 9
Spar 10
Spar 11
Spar 12
1.500
1.000
0.500
0.000
0.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000 3.500 4.000
-0.500

20. Envelope and Fin Fabrication
20th December

21. Envelope Fabrication Techniques
20th December Master Template & Fabrication of Envelope

22. Fin Fabrication
Rib
Fabrication
20th December

23. Field Trials
 May 2007  August 2007
 BATU, Raigarh  GCP, Pune

24. Trans Brahmaputra Aerial Ferry
Sponsored by DSIR
20th December

25. The Problem
Possible airship ferry between Jorhat to North Lakhimpur reducing a travel
of around 300 km by road to just 40 km
20th December

26. Tether & Winch Propelled Captive-HAB
CAPTIVE HAB River bank
TETHER / CABLES
River bank MOTORIZED WINCHES
20th December

27. Knowledge based Engineering Approach
for Airship Design

28. Knowledge Based Engineering
(KBE)
 KBE is defined as engineering on the basis of electronic
knowledge models.
Knowledge models can be imported or stored enabling
engineers to create designs on the basis of the knowledge in such
models
 Highly adaptive to various design problems.
 Makes the design process highly iterative in nature.

29. KBE Approach for Airship Design
 Specific methodology is developed based on High Level
Primitives (HLP).
In case of an Airship the HLP’s consist of fully parametric
models of the various segments of an airship.

30. KBE Approach Cont….
Based on the above inputs the volume and payload requirements are
then calculated.
 Now, by changing a few input dimensions the Airship can be
customised to customer’s needs of ‘Payload Requirements’

31. A typical Output from KBE
Approach
17th April 2008 R&D @ LTA IITB - PPT For IITM

32. Conceptual study of unmanned
high altitude aerial platforms
• For scientific research by SASE
• Applications
• Real-time monitoring of avalanche parameters at the
upper Himalayas
• Observation of work-in-progress at the tunnel

33. Design of an aerostat for aerial
observation at Dhundi
 Mandate
 Conceptual design and sizing of an aerostat
 meeting SASE’s operational requirements
 Generate documents and fabrication plans
 using which the aerostat can be fabricated
 by an industry partner decided by SASE
 Scaled prototype of the system to be fabricated
and tested through a field trial
 by an industry partner decided by SASE

34. Analysis of Airships using FSI Tools
(Project Mentored by me)

35. Fluid Structure Interaction - FSI
 FSI refers to problem solving using equations which govern the
motion of fluid and structure particles during their interaction.
 Various Methodologies used are:
 FSI Modeling Models
 Fully Coupled Model
 Loosely Coupled Model
Closely Coupled Mode
 ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian)
 IFEM (Immersed Finite Element Method)
 Fluid domain assumptions
 Solid domain assumptions
 The overlapping domain
 FD (Fictitious Domain) Method
 Fluid and Structure Coupling Mechanisms

36. Analysis of Airships using FSI Tools
Consists of three Stages:
Stage 1:
Structural Modeling of Airship Body using FEM
package called ABAQUS
Stage 2
Generation of Aerodynamic model
using VSAERO
Stage 3
Coupling of VSAERO and ABAQUS
models

37. This presentation showcased my work at IIT
Bombay carried out by me from 2007-2008
If interested, please contact:
amoolraina@gmail.com
20th December
2007