LTA Vehicle Drogue Deployment for Controlled Descent and Payload Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighter than air (LTA) vehicles face challenges in controlled descent and protection of payloads from envelope impact during unplanned or planned deflation, leading to potential damage from erratic movement and collision.
Innovation Solution
A drogue deployment system with multiple drogues deployed at acute angles from the vehicle's apex, using springs and risers to manage descent, providing lift and stabilizing the envelope relative to the payload, and deploying main parachutes to slow the descent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If gas is released from the balloon envelope to initiate descent, then the LTA vehicle can perform planned or unplanned descent, but the envelope may collide with the payload causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the single envelope descent control into multiple independent drogue parachutes (typically 2-4) distributed around the envelope. Each drogue independently manages a sector of the descent, preventing the envelope from collapsing onto the payload by distributing the control forces across multiple attachment points.
Solution Approach 2:
The drogue parachutes are deployed immediately upon gas release to establish controlled descent before the envelope can collapse. The drogues are pre-positioned at the envelope surface and automatically deploy, ensuring that controlled descent is established before uncontrolled envelope collapse can occur.
2Speed
If drogue parachutes are deployed to control descent, then descent speed is reduced, but the deployment forces may cause erratic movement and instability
Solution Approach 1:
The drogue parachutes are deployed asymmetrically at specific locations around the envelope (e.g., at 45-degree angles from the vertical axis) rather than symmetrically at the top. This asymmetric deployment creates balanced force vectors that stabilize the envelope during descent while preventing erratic movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple drogue parachutes act as counterbalancing forces distributed around the envelope. Each drogue provides an opposing force to the others, creating a balanced system that prevents the envelope from tilting or rotating erratically during descent.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple drogues are deployed to provide balanced forces, then envelope stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each drogue parachute is nested within a launch tube that is integrated into the envelope structure. The drogue, launch tube, and spring mechanism form a compact nested assembly that simplifies the overall system. Multiple such nested assemblies are distributed around the envelope, providing stability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The drogue deployment system uses spring-loaded automatic deployment mechanisms that require no external control. Each drogue assembly is self-contained with its own spring and launch tube, automatically deploying when triggered by gas release. This self-service approach reduces control system complexity while maintaining stability.
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
The system ensures controlled descent, reduces envelope-payload collision risk, maintains envelope stability, and minimizes damage by balancing drogue deployment forces and providing additional lift during deflation.
Implementation Method 1
a spring winding around the launch tube, the spring configured to launch the drogue; a core placed around an outer circumference of the launch tube and placed around the spring, the core compressing the spring and holding the spring in a compressed state prior to deployment
Implementation Method 2
Drogue parachutes are parachutes that are deployed from rapidly moving objects to slow the object
Implementation Method 3
the riser is connected to the carrier in a coiled manner
Data Source
AI summary
The technology relates to techniques for drogue deployment for a lighter than air (LTA) vehicle descent. A drogue deployment system for an LTA vehicle descent can include a drogue comprising a drogue parachute coupled to a carrier. A spring can be configured to launch the drogue from a launch tube directed outward from an apex of the LTA vehicle in an acute angle from a horizontal plane. A core can be placed around the launch tube and placed around the spring, the core compressing the spring and holding the spring in a compressed state prior to deployment, and a riser can couple the carrier to the envelope of the LTA vehicle. In some cases, the drogue deployment system can comprise two or more drogues, wherein intervals between the two or more drogues can be selected such that horizontal components of drogue deployment forces approximately cancel out.