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Something these articles never mention is the cargo conundrum: If one of these cargo airships puts down its heavy cargo in a remote location the airships whole
by ttepasse 4y ago
Something these articles never mention is the cargo conundrum:
If one of these cargo airships puts down its heavy cargo in a remote location the airships whole mass balance changes – the airship is suddenly far lighter because it doesn’t contain the mass of the cargo anymore. To keep the airship from rising into orbit of the mass of the cargo must be replaced (or the expensive helium let go). The german Cargolifter startup back in the late 90s intended to do this with pumped water and I remember a prototype demonstrating that successfully by lifting and lowering a tank.
But: To transport your cargo to that remote, inaccessible location you’ll need to transport the airship ground support to that remote, inaccessible location: infrastructure for anchoring, a pump, a generator for that pump, fuel, and possible the same mass of water as the cargo. And if you can transport all that mass by conventional means to that remote, inaccessible location, chances are high that you can already transport the cargo to that location.
- imoverclocked 4y agoYes, but once there, it doesn’t have to move again.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Loquebantur 4y agoYou could solve this by compressing the helium onboard, replacing it with air filling a balloon inside. Of course this complicates matters. Another way would be to ditch gases altogether and go for containers able to hold a vacuum against air pressure. Something along the lines of an aerogel with an airtight membrane around it.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- latchkey 4y agohttps://www.bauercomp.com/products/helium https://www.bauercomp.com/products/helium """ Compressing Helium requires special purpose-built compressors. Helium gas has a density that is 86% less than air. This means that the compressor has to be built to extremely tight tolerances to effectively compress helium gas without excessive blow-by. Furthermore, helium releases large amounts of heat when compressed, which the compressor must be able to absorb and shed. Therefore, for larger helium compressors, BAUER uses water cooling for the compressor for increased cooling efficiency. Typical helium applications include recovery and compression systems for liquid cooling used in research institutions, particle accelerators, nuclear medicine, aerospace, and military missile applications. Helium recovery and compression is also used in general industrial applications, commercial merchant gas filling plants, heliostat applications, and helium mining. """
- jetrink 4y agoIs it infeasible to compress a portion of the helium to a heavier than air density instead of venting it?
- yencabulator 4y ago> infrastructure for anchoring, a pump, a generator for that pump, fuel, and possible the same mass of water as the cargo Barring really bad weather, airships can anchor to a metal structure comparable to a radio tower. So, any place that is capable of having FM/AM radio stations or cell phones. Pump and fuel for it, and a water source also isn't all that rare. Any place that has a well with a non-manual pump, or anywhere you can drive a vehicle to, qualify. Driving one vehicle with pump+fuel on it locally to be able to receive lots of cargo from much farther away can still be a good trade-off. The airship can also trade cargo capacity for location independence by putting the pump and its fuel in the cargo bay. I seriously doubt these are the biggest obstacles for their ideas.