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Feasibility Study of A Hybrid Airship Operating in Ground Effect

A hybrid airship is developed in the context of an all-cargo aircraft operating in ground effect for increased performance. The concept is proposed for the transportation of containerized freight on the transatlantic route from New York to London. A 1000-ton hybrid, offering a 43% higher annual profit over the conventional airship, is selected as a feasible design point for future development.

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50 views1 page

Feasibility Study of A Hybrid Airship Operating in Ground Effect

A hybrid airship is developed in the context of an all-cargo aircraft operating in ground effect for increased performance. The concept is proposed for the transportation of containerized freight on the transatlantic route from New York to London. A 1000-ton hybrid, offering a 43% higher annual profit over the conventional airship, is selected as a feasible design point for future development.

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Jonathan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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VOL. 14, NO.

8, AUGUST 1977

J. AIRCRAFT

809

Feasibility Study of a Hybrid Airship Operating in Ground Effect


D. E. Calkins* Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A hybrid airship is developed in the context of an all-cargo aircraft operating in ground effect for increased performance. The concept is proposed for the transportation of containerized freight on the transatlantic route from New York to London. A performance and economic algorithm has been developed to compare the hybrid and conventional airship designs. A parametric study has been performed that covered vehicle gross weights from 250 to 4000 tons. The metric used for comparing the two designs was the potential profit for a year's operation. Results of the study show that the hybrid has a higher annual profit up to a gross weight of about 1500 tons. A 1000-ton hybrid, offering a 43% higher annual profit over the conventional airship, is selected as a feasible design point for future development.

Introduction

HERE are presently two modes of transocean bulk cargo transportation in operation. These are the containership, which carries up to 2000 containers at a speed of 30 knots, and the air freighter (Boeing 747-F), which carries up to 14 containers at 450 knots. An examination of the transport efficiency of these vehicles shows a large "transport gap'* between the two, over which no vehicles presently operate in the context of transocean cargo transportation. The rigid airship offers a natural solution to this transport gap; however, it does not become efficient until large sizes are considered. A new hybrid airship concept is proposed, which appears to provide a natural transition between the aircraft and the conventional airship. By extending the concept to include operation in ground effect (G.E.) above the ocean's surface, the performance of the hybrid (G.E.) airship is enhanced further. The hybrid (G.E.) airship concept is proposed as a dedicated intermodal cargo transport for transocean operation. Concept Description
Vehicle Configuration

The volume of helium which must be enclosed in order to provide the required aerostatic lift results in a fuselage size which is larger in proportion to the aerodynamic lifting surface than that which is encountered in conventional aircraft design. Lifting-body technology currently being developed for the Space Shuttle 2 provides an excellent data base for developing high lift/drag ratio lifting-body configurations. The airship hull has been reshaped from a conventional circular into the rectangular cross section to reduce the

The hybrid airship concept presented (Fig. 1) embodies three separate aerospace technologies which include: 1) use of partial aerostatic lift, 2) lifting body aerodynamics, and 3) ground effect (G.E.) augmented lift. The bend of the technologies into the hybrid (G.E.) airship concept presented results in significantly improved performance in terms of transport efficiency. A low-aspect-ratio wing with strakes is blended into a rigid airship hull in combination with forward canard control surfaces. Low wing structural weight is achieved through the use of the low-aspect-ratio wing, which in turn may be used because of operation in ground effect. The wing strakes increase the wing stall margin (C Lmax ) and move the aerodynamic center forward. The forward canards provide pitch trim control over the flight envelope. The aft wing position allows the placement of the engines and propulsors aft in the hull for increased propulsive efficiency. The vertical stabilizers are mounted on the wing tips to serve also as wingtip vortex diffusers or "winglets." 2 These winglets serve to reduce induced drag.
Presented as Paper 75-929 at the AIAA Lighter than Air Technology Conference, Snowmass, Colo., July 15-17, 1975; submitted Aug. 11, 1975; revision received Feb. 8, 1977. Index categories: Ground Effect Machines; Lighter-than-Airships. * Visiting Professor, Department of Naval Engineering and Oceanography. Member AIAA.

Fig. 1 Hybrid (G.E.) airship concept.

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Northern shipping route


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Southern shipping air route

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60 40 20 Longitude . deg. west Fig. 2 Proposed route.

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