Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan
A fan is part of the core equipment of a super-pressure balloon altitude control system, and high-performance fans have a significant impact on the altitude control capability and flight safety of super-pressure balloons. This paper proposes a mixed-flow MIX-140 fan for use with super-pressure ballo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Aerospace |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/1/38 |
| _version_ | 1797344872697430016 |
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| author | Wei Qu Qianghui Zhang Yumei Qin Jinggang Miao Zeqing He Yanchu Yang |
| author_facet | Wei Qu Qianghui Zhang Yumei Qin Jinggang Miao Zeqing He Yanchu Yang |
| author_sort | Wei Qu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A fan is part of the core equipment of a super-pressure balloon altitude control system, and high-performance fans have a significant impact on the altitude control capability and flight safety of super-pressure balloons. This paper proposes a mixed-flow MIX-140 fan for use with super-pressure balloons. Changes in the fan’s operating characteristics at various flight altitudes of a super-pressure balloon were investigated. First, the performance of the fan at ground level was obtained through numerical simulation and compared with measured data of the prototype to verify the accuracy of the simulation analysis. On this basis, the influences of changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed on fan performance were investigated through numerical simulation. Furthermore, the MIX-140 fan was compared with an existing fan, and the variation of two parameters, namely, the ratio of inflation volume per unit time and the ratio of inflation volume per unit power, were investigated at different altitudes. Finally, the changes in the operating characteristics of the fan under different high-altitude environments were investigated through actual testing. The results reveal that changes in altitude can lead to significant changes in fan performance, and changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed affect the fan’s working characteristics. Compared with the existing fan, the MIX-140 fan achieves an average increase of 295.8% in the inflation volume per unit of time, and 14.6% in the inflation volume per unit of power at altitudes of 16–20 km. The performance variation characteristics and testing methods of this proposed super-pressure balloon fan can provide a foundation and reference for the design of a super-pressure balloon control system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:09:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3afe5af5b0f8417c998c6b38386fe3f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-4310 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:09:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerospace |
| spelling | doaj.art-3afe5af5b0f8417c998c6b38386fe3f52024-01-26T14:12:09ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102023-12-011113810.3390/aerospace11010038Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag FanWei Qu0Qianghui Zhang1Yumei Qin2Jinggang Miao3Zeqing He4Yanchu Yang5Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, ChinaA fan is part of the core equipment of a super-pressure balloon altitude control system, and high-performance fans have a significant impact on the altitude control capability and flight safety of super-pressure balloons. This paper proposes a mixed-flow MIX-140 fan for use with super-pressure balloons. Changes in the fan’s operating characteristics at various flight altitudes of a super-pressure balloon were investigated. First, the performance of the fan at ground level was obtained through numerical simulation and compared with measured data of the prototype to verify the accuracy of the simulation analysis. On this basis, the influences of changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed on fan performance were investigated through numerical simulation. Furthermore, the MIX-140 fan was compared with an existing fan, and the variation of two parameters, namely, the ratio of inflation volume per unit time and the ratio of inflation volume per unit power, were investigated at different altitudes. Finally, the changes in the operating characteristics of the fan under different high-altitude environments were investigated through actual testing. The results reveal that changes in altitude can lead to significant changes in fan performance, and changes in the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and fan speed affect the fan’s working characteristics. Compared with the existing fan, the MIX-140 fan achieves an average increase of 295.8% in the inflation volume per unit of time, and 14.6% in the inflation volume per unit of power at altitudes of 16–20 km. The performance variation characteristics and testing methods of this proposed super-pressure balloon fan can provide a foundation and reference for the design of a super-pressure balloon control system.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/1/38super-pressure balloonflight height adjustmentmixed-flow fanfan testing |
| spellingShingle | Wei Qu Qianghui Zhang Yumei Qin Jinggang Miao Zeqing He Yanchu Yang Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan Aerospace super-pressure balloon flight height adjustment mixed-flow fan fan testing |
| title | Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan |
| title_full | Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan |
| title_fullStr | Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan |
| title_short | Analysis and Testing of Variable Height Operating Characteristics of Super-Pressure Balloon Airbag Fan |
| title_sort | analysis and testing of variable height operating characteristics of super pressure balloon airbag fan |
| topic | super-pressure balloon flight height adjustment mixed-flow fan fan testing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/11/1/38 |
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