Thermal Analysis: Modeling and Characteristic Prediction for Stratospheric Airships

This paper addresses the thermal characteristics analysis of stratospheric airships by establishing a thermodynamic model. The model′s validity was verified through comparison with existing experimental data. Based on this model, simulations analyzed the effects of various factors on stratospheric airship thermal behavior, including different skin thermal radiation parameters, initial pressures, latitudes, seasons, and flight orientations. Results indicate that skin thermal radiation significantly influences diurnal temperature variations, yielding maximum temperature differences of 36.1 K and pressure differentials of 923 Pa under varying solar radiation absorption rates. Under different infrared radiation absorption rates, maximum temperature differences reach 25.7 K with pressure differentials of 656.3 Pa. Initial pressure variations have minimal impact on temperature changes, affecting only the average helium pressure within the envelope. During spring, autumn, and winter, lower latitudes exhibited higher maximum noon temperatures, greater maximum helium pressures, and larger diurnal temperature variations. Controlling the airship′s orientation effectively reduced overheating and lowered the average pressure within the airship envelope.