Airship Ballast Assembly for Load Exchange Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Airships face challenges in load exchange operations, particularly when used as flying cranes for wind turbines, due to difficulties in managing buoyancy and ballast, leading to complex and costly processes, especially over water or uneven surfaces, where traditional methods like tethers and anchors are impractical or ineffective.
Innovation Solution
An airship system with a ballast assembly comprising adjustable ballast units connected by cables to the airship body, allowing for varying weight forces by adjusting cable length and ballast material quantity, enabling neutral buoyancy and facilitating load exchange without the need for extensive ground preparation or complex tethering systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional tethering systems and anchors are used for load exchange operations, then the airship can be stabilized during loading and unloading, but the operational complexity and cost increase significantly, especially over water or uneven surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the ballast units from the airship body and positions them on the ground surface during load exchange operations. This separation eliminates the need for complex tethering systems and anchors, as the ballast units themselves provide the stabilization function when placed on the ground, significantly simplifying the overall system while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The ballast units serve as intermediary elements between the airship and the ground surface. By placing these weighted units on the ground, they act as mediators that provide stabilization during load exchange without requiring complex tethering systems, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity
2Device complexity
If ballast units are placed on the ground for stabilization, then the tethering system is simplified, but the ability to perform load exchange over water or uneven surfaces is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic positioning of ballast units that can be adjusted based on the operational environment. The system can transition between having ballast units on the ground (for stability on solid surfaces) and in the air (for operations over water or uneven terrain), enabling versatility while maintaining system simplicity through the use of winches and cables for repositioning
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameter of ballast units between ground contact and aerial positions depending on the operational requirements. This parameter change enables the airship to perform load exchange operations over different surfaces including water and uneven terrain while maintaining simplicity of the ballast system
3Force
If the airship maintains positive buoyancy for lifting capacity, then it can lift heavy payloads, but it cannot remain stationary or descend without additional ballast
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ballast system into separate, adjustable units that can be independently positioned and weighted. This segmentation allows precise control of the airship's buoyancy by adjusting the position and weight of individual ballast units, enabling the airship to maintain lifting capacity while providing easy control over buoyancy for stationary positioning and descent
Solution Approach 2:
The ballast units serve as counterweights to the airship's buoyant force. By adjusting the position and weight of these counterweights, the system achieves precise control over the airship's buoyancy, allowing it to maintain positive lifting capacity while enabling easy control for stationary positioning and descent operations
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and controlled load exchange operations, allowing airships to effectively lift and transport heavy loads like wind turbine components, reducing operational complexity and costs by maintaining neutral buoyancy and stability during lifting and transportation.
Implementation Method 1
An airship (100) comprises an airship body (10), a ballast assembly comprising at least one ballast unit (3) coupled to the airship body (10), and a payload lifting device (4) coupled to the airship body (10) and configured to lift a payload
Implementation Method 2
Hybrid airships combine the airship's aerostatic lift from a lighter-than-air gas such as helium with the heavier-than-air craft's dynamic lift coming from movement through the air
Data Source
AI summary
An airship comprising an airship body, a ballast assembly (7) comprising at least one ballast pod (7) coupled to the airship body, and a payload lifting device (4, 6) coupled to the airship body and configured to lift a payload wherein the ballast assembly (7) is configured to vary a weight force applied to the airship body by said ballast pod (7) when a payload is applied to the payload lifting device (4, 6) while the pod (7) is coupled to the airship body and is in contact with a planetary surface (8).