Thermal performance of stratospheric airship with photovoltaic array

The increase of airship applications makes it necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the thermal performance of stratospheric airships. A numerical model was proposed to simulate the thermal performance of a stratospheric airship with photovoltaic array, an analysis code was developed based on the thermal model and was verified by experimental data. A further inspection into the temperature field and flow field distribution of the airship was analyzed in detail. The simulation results suggest that solar radiation can exert great influence on the thermal performance of the airship. The higher temperature Helium was gathered in the upper part inside of the airship, the flow of Helium was regular at nighttime but was chaotic in the middle and upper part of the airship at daytime. The temperature and velocity performance of fin was different from that of the hull and other fins due to the shadow of hull and other fins.