A study on the effect of water vapor condensation on the stratospheric airship ascending process

A model considering water vapor condensation process is built in this paper to simulate the process of airship ascending more accurately. In order to consider the difference of skin temperature around the airship surface, the skin of airship is divided into small grids. The radiation heat absorbed by the internal gas when the skin is semitransparent is calculated with an improved net heat method. With the assumption that the water vapor density of the airship in the air bag is saturated, the calculation method of the latent heat generated by the vapor condensation process and the attenuation coefficient of the thermal radiation under the corresponding vapor density are analyzed. By uniting the dynamical model, thermal model and ideal gas law, the simulation model for the ascending process is built. Numerical result is proposed for a concept airship. The results show that the condensation process does affect the ascending process and should be considered.