Research on static loading method for aerodynamic effect of flexible airship

In this paper, the static loading method is presented for studying nonlinear aerodynamic effect of flexible airship in a low cost and convenient way. Firstly, the principles of the static loading method are proposed based on the simulation on a real airship. Secondly, the instrumentation system indoor is introduced to exert concentrated force on a scaled-down airship model. Then, both the static loading tests and simulation on the airship model are reported. Consequently, the simulated deformation contours are obtained and compared at three angles of attack by both aerodynamic load and concentrated forces. Moreover, the measured results of the deformations of five measured zones are compared with the simulated data. The results show the static loading method can effectively reflect the deformation distribution caused by aerodynamic loads on flexible airship. This method can provide a new convenient way to study the aerodynamic effect of flexible airship at low cost. Besides, this method can be applied to load measurement of flexible materials, such as inner curtain both the inside and outside of airship.