Rigid Airship Energy Systems. Renewable versus traditional energy (PDF)

Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Engineering - Aerospace Technology, grade: 1, Suez Canal University (Faculty of Engineering), language: English, abstract: This research goes throughout the general design steps for an airship starting by skeleton, outer surface and balloons that give the airship the necessary buoyant force to fly by filling these balloons with a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. Controlling the airships altitude, it could be achieved by changing the overall density of airship. The Drag coefficient is calculated using ANSYS, therefore the thrust power required for airship to move is calculated.

Different energy alternatives used to drive the airship was comprehensively studied for economic operation. These alternatives vary between renewable (Solar energy and fuel cell) and traditional (diesel) energies. A Comparison between these alternatives is presented. It was found that solar energy with fuel cell is the most effective system for long duration flights (greater than 14 days). Although traditional energy (diesel) seems most economical in short duration flights (less than 14 days), the renewable energies are environmental friendly where there is no harmful exhaust as well as minimum fire and explosion risk.

Rigid airship is a mean of transportation that can be used to flourish economy. Airships can be used in different applications such as Freight and passengers' transportation, communications, weather forecasting, agriculture, observing environment, conditions monitoring for farmlands, tourism, as a crane and in research.