Miniature Lighter Than Air Vehicle
Frank Roselle (Thermo
Systems), Joseph Kastner (Con
Advisor: Dr. Doyle Knight
Team 9
Introduction
The project that has been designed and fabricated is a miniature lighter than air vehicle. A lighter than air vehicle is essentially a neutrally buoyant aircraft. These types of aircrafts are generally referred to as blimps and have somewhat similar design. The vehicle is capable of motion in the six principle directions and extremely maneuverable. These vehicles could primarily be used by the military for reconnaissance and surveillance.
Motivation
The objective of this project was to design a vehicle with minimal weight and dimensions. Also, the vehicle had to be capable of hovering, and movement in the six principle directions. This was all to be done within our budget of $1000.
Design
There are two main features to our design, the balloon and the propulsion system. The balloon was constructed from mylar in the shape of a sphere. The reason for using the sphere it contains the maximum volume of any shape given a specific surface area. This enables us to meet the design criteria of minimal dimensions.
The propulsion system for our vehicle is housed in a carbon fiber carriage. Carbon fiber was chosen because of its unique strength to weight ratio. The carbon fiber allowed us to construct a rigid and strong frame for our propulsion system with as little weight as possible.
The design for the carriage included the use of a gyroscopic propulsion system. Two concentric rectangles were fabricated. Each of these was fitted a servo motor capable of 90° of rotation. The carriage was then fitted with two motors aligned back to back. Each motor is capable of thrust in the direction that it is facing. These are in turn controlled by two electronic speed controllers which control the RPMs, or “speeds” of both motors.
The power of the propulsion system is provided by two lithium ion batteries. The vehicle is controlled using a four channel receiver and remote control. All of the wiring and electronics are bound to a thin half ring of carbon fiber. This moves the center of gravity of the vehicle lower, allowing for more stability during flight.
Conclusion
The design and fabrication of our project has taught us much about how the actual engineering process works in real life applications. The design and completion of this vehicle has exceeded any expectations that we previously had before actually completing the project.