Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
018 Russ Engineering Center
Wright State University
Dayton, OH 45435
November 05, 2012
Senior Design Class
Russ Engineering 154
Wright state University
Dayton, OH 45435
To whom it may concern,
Enclosed is a proposal to conduct a research on new capabilities of a High Altitude Balloon. Our team’s objective is to launch a balloon that will reach an altitude above 60,000ft while maintaining constant communication at a fixed altitude. The Idea is to keep the balloon up at a fixed altitude for a longer duration of time for longer data collections. In order to achieve this goal, more experiment will be conducted.
Our team advisors are Dr. Joseph C. Slater – Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Bruce Rahn –
Electrical Engineering mentor, and Dr. Mitch Wolff – Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Emily Henry
– Graduate Student Mentor, Nicholas Baine – Graduate Student Mentor. Please contact the Wright
State University High Altitude Balloon team at 018 Russ Center, Wright State University with any question or concerns regarding this proposal. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The High Altitude Balloon Team
Odera Eziolisa, Dale Hardacre, Kaneisha Wilson

November 05, 2012
Odera Eziolisa, Dale Hardacre, Kaneisha Wilson
Dr. Joseph C. Slater
ME-4910-01: Capstone Design I
ME 4910: Engineering Design Fall 2012
Dr. Rory Roberts
Wright State University
College of Engineering and Computer Science
High Altitude Balloon Laboratory
018 Russ Engineering Center
Approval:

ABSTRACT
The Wright State University High Altitude Balloon (HAB) team is currently interested in developing a balloon capable of reaching near-space altitudes with station keeping capabilities.
Previous HAB teams have made improvements to the shape and functionality of the package and re-entry methods. This year’s team would like to launch the balloon and have it stabilize at a certain altitude where it can then be used for communication. Communication with the balloon will be kept through the use of a HAM radio. A station keeping balloon would allow the use of
HAM radio across a greater distance. If the technology is perfected, a series of balloons could be launched to create a network allowing HAM radio communication across the continental United
States. This technology would be very useful for a natural disaster area. In these areas, standard methods of communications are generally knocked out and HAM radio signals are normally the first to reach the general public. This year’s team will primarily focus on the station keeping mechanism that will allow the balloon to remain at an altitude above 60,000 feet for an extended period of time and maintain communication and tracking capabilities through the use of HAM radio. The station keeping needs to allow for a designated communication area from the city of
New Orleans to an Emergency Operations Center, EOC in the same state for 24 hours.
The balloon will stabilize around 80,000 feet, at which the velocity will be monitored to determine if the designated communication area will be satisfied for 24 hours. If the wind velocity is too high, the system will change altitude to meet the desired requirements. The goal for the launch is to prove that at the end of the 24 hours, anyone in New Orleans will be able to communicate with an EOC in Louisiana. i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
2 Experimental Procedure/methdology/Approach ..................................................................... 2
2.1
Development of the Balloon ............................................................................................ 3
2.2
First Launch...................................................................................................................... 8
2.3
Second Launch ................................................................................................................. 9
3 Expected Results...................................................................................................................... 9
4 Budget and Personnel ............................................................................................................ 12
5 References ............................................................................................................................. 14
ii

List of Figures
Figure 1: Area the Balloon must stay within ................................................................................................. 2
Figure 2: Communication Range needed for 24 hours ................................................................................. 3
Figure 3: Design Process Flow Chart (2) ......................................................................................................... 4
Figure 4: NASA’s Long-Life Stratospheric Balloon System With Altitude Control (3) ..................................... 6
Figure 5: Schematic of Balloon System ......................................................................................................... 7
Figure 6: Wind Direction February 2012 ..................................................................................................... 11
Figure 7: Wind Speeds February 2012 ........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 8: Wind Speeds February 2011 ........................................................................................................ 19
Figure 9: Wind Direction February 2011 ..................................................................................................... 19
Figure 10: Wind Speed March 2011............................................................................................................ 20
Figure 11: Wind Direction March 2011 ....................................................................................................... 20
Figure 12: Wind Speed March 2012............................................................................................................ 21
Figure 13: Wind Direction March 2012 ....................................................................................................... 21
iii

List of Tables
Table 1: Risk Assessment of Launch (2) .......................................................................................................... 5
Table 2: Maximum Allowable Wind Speed ................................................................................................... 9
Table 3: Wind Data February 2012 ............................................................................................................. 10
Table 4: Budget (2) ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Table 5: Timeline for Project ......................................................................................................................... 1
iv

1 INTRODUCTION
Communication with areas struck by natural disasters is necessary to provide adequate relief to those within the area as part of the recovery process. However, normal modes of communication, such as telephones and cellular devices are often interrupted. The first mode of communication out of a disaster area is often Amateur Radio, HAM Radio. Amateur radio signal are limited to line of sight propagation and often cannot reach the necessary officials outside of the disaster area. The Wright State University
High Altitude Balloon (HIBAL) Team proposes to launch a signal repeater above 60,000 feet to greatly increase the capabilities of Amateur Radio operators.
The HIBAL Team was founded at Wright State University in 2005 and has completed 30 launches to date. The HIBAL Team has been sponsored by sources including The Ohio Space Grant Consortium,
Wright State University Curriculum Development Grant, and The National Science Foundation. To date, the team has focused on near space experiments and gathering data related to the re-entry of the launched package at sub-sonic speed into the atmosphere. This year, the focus of the project will shift to station-keeping mechanism for maintaining the balloon above 60,000 feet within a predetermined communications range.
Amateur radio waves are limited to line of sight communication unless that range is extended through the use of a repeater. A repeater is a two-way radio that receives transmissions on one frequency the retransmits what it received on another frequency instantaneously. Repeaters are generally station at higher elevations to increase the range one can transmit to and receive from. The area of communication of a repeater, 𝐴 𝑟
, can be determined from its elevation using the following equation:
Equation 1: Radius of the Repeater’s communication range 𝑟 = √2 ∗ ℎ
Where 𝑟 is the radius of the circular area centered at the repeater in miles, and ℎ is the altitude in feet.
For the purpose of this project, the team will focus on the disaster area of New Orleans, LA after
Hurricane Katrina The disaster will need to maintain contact with Emergency Operations Centers within the state of Louisiana. The furthest EOC from New Orleans was found and the distance between the two sites will be used as the diameter of the necessary communications range. Allowing the area to include all the EOCs in the state will eliminate the risk of determining is any EOCs outside New Orleans are having technical difficulties. The diameter of this designated communication range was found to be 𝑑 =
300.187 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 . Based on the radius found using the above equation the drift can then be found, assuming that the balloon path would go in a straight line across the designated area.
1

Equation 2: Drift Range of Balloon 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑡 = 2𝑟 − 300.187
The above equation is found from Figure 1. The red shows the area that the balloon must be located
in for the designated communication range to be covered. Please note that the red area is not the actual communication range available from the repeater in the balloon. The radius of the actual communication
range available by the repeater calculated by Equation 1
Designated communication range r
Figure 1: Area the Balloon must stay within
The main objective of this project will be to keep the designated communication area, 𝐴 𝑑 repeater’s communication area 𝐴 𝑟
within the
for a period of 24 hours, by keeping the drift of the balloon under that
of the calculated drift from Equation 2 .
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE/METHDOLOGY/APPROACH
There are many requirements that our project must meet. The design must meet the requirements specified by FAR 101.
(1)
These are the requirements that are set for the amateur civilian residents to
2

send balloons into the atmosphere and return. The total payload for unmanned free high altitude balloons has to be less than 12lb. Each package has to be less than 6lb and must separate with a 50lb force.
Then the balloon must allow for our minimum fixed communication range as designated in Figure 2
for 24 hours. By looking at the mean wind velocities with altitude and season, it was found that the balloon would be able to provide complete coverage of this area for the 24 hour time requirement at around 75,000-90,000 feet. Therefore, this eliminated the need for a propulsion device and steered our focus point to altitude control. From previous wind data, we were also able to find that wind direction also changes with altitude. Therefore, controlling the altitude would allow us to find opposite wind directions if the wind occurring at stabilized altitude will blow the balloon’s communication area out of the designated area of communication range needed.
Figure 2: Communication Range needed for 24 hours
2.1
Development of the Balloon
We will follow a similar design process as other Wright State University HAB teams have done in
the past, shown in Figure 3.
(2)
To begin the design the team must start researching the New Orleans
3

disaster to find what communication system could have been used for EOC’s in the Louisiana to keep in contact with those in the city of New Orleans. This is assuming that the EOC’s are only manned when a disaster occurs. Then the team must research the progress and methods for station keeping that would satisfy the problem statement created during the New Orleans research. While conducting this initial research, the members must go through the necessary technical training needed to fly the balloon system such as getting their HAM radio licenses, learning how to use the HAM radios, using the flight prediction software, balloon handling and filling, tracking and recovery, etc. To help with the needed training, a training launch will be performed that will allow the members to get some hands on training with members of the previous teams. This launch will also help the team members gain experience with all the procedures involved in launching a balloon package, tracking, and retrieving it.
Figure 3: Design Process Flow Chart (2)
Once the team has all the necessary training needed to conduct their own flight, they can design their own package that would satisfy their problem statement. This flight will try to satisfy station keeping and prove that they can keep communication in the designated communication range for 24 hours. There are going to be two scheduled flights. This first flight will give room for failure that the team members can analyze to see where the system failed and how to improve it for a successful second flight. For both flights, the package requirements include: FAR 101 restrictions
(1)
, data acquisition devices that record velocity and orientation, tracking systems, and an altitude control system.
Table 1 needs to be considered before constructing and launching any packages. The scoring is 0
(unacceptable risk), 1 (significant risk), 3 (moderate risk), and 9 (minimal risk). In previous experience, the loss of the package is not likely to occur, but since the goal is to station keep the system for 24 hours there is a significant risk. The loss of the balloon has been found to be a likely occurrence, and therefore
4

two balloons are brought on hand for the launch to reduce the significance factor. Prior to the first launch, the team will conduct test to simulate the launch and pack the necessary tool needed for construction of the system at the launch site, which reduces the occurrence potential for the improper packaging of tools for the launch. No launch can take place in bad weather and therefore is an unacceptable risk. Flight prediction will not be completely accurate, in which foxhunting and the use of
GPS and APRS tracking systems will be used in the recovery. Further risk assessment will be conducted after the first flight to determine risk assessments of environmental effects during a 24 hour exposure time.
Table 1: Risk Assessment of Launch (2)
Occurrence Potential Significance Factor
3
1
9
9
1
3
Key Potential Risks
Loss of Balloon at Launch
Loss of Package
Improper Packing of Tools
Needed
Late Delivery of Supplies
Bad Weather
Incorrect Flight Prediction
Dead Batteries at Launch
Rigging Failure
Component Failure
Interconnection Failure
9
3
9
9
3
1
1
9
1
3
3
1
0
3
As a part of the risk assessments, two designs will be kept in mind for the solution to the problem statement. The first design is an altitude control system based on a solar IR Montgolfier balloon attached to a helium balloon based on the concept of
NASA’s Long-Life Stratospheric Balloon System with
Altitude Control
, shown in Figure 2.
(3)
This system is being considered for its limitless supply of ballast for altitude control, which in this case is heated air. This system also does not acquire the venting of helium. Therefore, the amount of helium left in the balloon does not limit the life of the system.
Although solar balloons by themselves are stated not to fly in cloudy weather, windy weather, and very hot weather in some climates.
(4)
Since the solar balloon must have a significantly higher temperature inside the balloon than on the outside to make it buoyant, they won’t usually fly when the sun is obstructed or the wind is strong enough to cool off or even deflate the balloon. (4) For hot weather environments, larger solar balloons are needed for flights.
(4) These issues could be a risk to using the system. Since the solar balloons would not fly when the sun is not out, a resistor heater would need to be added for the balloon to become buoyant at night. This would then limit the balloon based on the power needed to generate the heat unless solar cells where used as the power source.
5

Figure 4: NASA’s Long-Life Stratospheric Balloon System With Altitude Control (3)
The second system being considered is an altitude control system with the use of ballast. This system is limited on the amount of ballast added to the system, which there is a total package weight restriction of 12 pounds. It is also limited to the amount of helium in the balloon, since it has to vent
6

helium in order to reduce altitude. This approach has been proven for the 24 hour time requirement and even more.
The Montgolfier buoyancy system is the altitude control system that will be initially tested, since it is more suitable for changing altitude excessively. Venting helium and dropping ballast would be more suitable for stabilizing altitude with fewer altitude changes, since it is limited by ballast and helium.
Since venting helium and dropping ballast is a more proven design, it will still be considered as a backup design.
The initial design will be similar to the figure ниже. First the solar balloon will be designed and
built. Then it will be initially tested on the ground to confirm the initial calculations of lift if should provide. This will be done by connecting the solar balloon to a scale and left outside for a full day and night so the lift data provided by the solar balloon can be obtained. Then this test will also be done again with a heater system to help the solar balloon to become buoyant at night. These tests will allow the experimental data to be compared to the theoretical calculated data.
Figure 5: Schematic of Balloon System
Thermal analysis will also be done on the control package to evaluate whether it will need to be heated as well. Once the thermal analysis is done, the batteries will be tested in a similar environment for 24 hours to insure that they will function for the full flight time. The expected weight of the package is about six pounds and the entire system is expected to be about twelve pounds. The expected total lift of the system is represented by the following equation:
Equation 3: Lift from free body diagram
𝐿 = 𝑓 ℎ
+ 𝑓 𝑠
− 𝑓 𝑔
= 𝑉 ℎ
(𝜌 𝑎𝑖𝑟
− 𝜌 ℎ
)𝑔 + 𝑉 𝑠
(𝜌 𝑎𝑖𝑟
− 𝜌 𝑠
)𝑔 − 𝑔(𝑚 𝑡
+ 𝜌 ℎ
𝑉 ℎ
+ 𝜌 𝑠
𝑉 𝑠
)
7

Where 𝑓 ℎ represents the buoyant force of the helium balloon, 𝑓 𝑠
represents the buoyant force of the solar balloon, 𝑓 𝑔 represents the force of gravity on the whole system.
Analysis will be conducted on the lift on the solar balloon to see how the calculated lift compares to the experimental lift. This will be done after the solar balloon is built by collecting the lift of the solar balloon as it is outside for 24 hours. The calculated lift of the solar balloon can be calculated as follows:
𝐿 = 𝑉 𝑠
(𝜌 𝑎𝑖𝑟
− 𝜌 𝑠
)𝑔 − 𝑔(𝜌 𝑠
𝑉 𝑠
+ 𝑚 𝑠
)
Where 𝑚 𝑠
represents the mass of the solar sail material.
These initial tests will also be comparing results with current data already on solar balloons. It is stated that a small solar balloon 4 meters in diameter has a lift capability of 3.16 kg (approximately 7 lbs.) at an approximate 20 o C temperature difference from inside the solar balloon and outside.
(5) This will allow the system to add or drop the lift by a difference of 7 pounds in order to increase or decrease in altitude.
To make sure inside of our payload box do not freeze or absorb too much radiation from the atmosphere, we have to do some analysis that will help us determine how our payload box could be modeled. In order to do this analysis, some constants such like the heat transfer coefficient and the thermal conductivity of the payload box will have to be determined. The heat transfer coefficient will help us determine the amount of heat that passes through the unit area of our payload box per unit time.
The thermal conductivity is the properties ability to conduct heat.
Once the heat transfer coefficient and the thermal conductivity of the materials are determined,
ANSYS Software Package will to help us analyze the entire box for 24 hours period. After the analysis, we would have a much better understanding of how the walls of our payload box could be improved and modified so that the components inside the payload box can function properly. Also, we are planning on doing some battery testing, since batteries will be our primary source of electrical energy. We will test different batteries and will select form the once that performs the best.
2.2
First Launch
The first launch will take place in February. This will provide the initial experiment to find out if the altitude control system works. The balloon will initially be filled with helium to increase the ascend rate to reach the ideal altitude from the wind predictions. Then the helium will be vented out. The system will need to stabilize altitude around 80,000 ft. The velocity at that altitude will be monitored to see if it will satisfy the problem statement at the end of the 24 hours. Then if the velocity is too large, the altitude of the system will be changed as needed to either change directions or stabilize at an altitude that meets the requirements. The best predicted altitude will be considered before the launch with the available wind data, but altitude changes might be needed since wind data is not too reliable.
After the launch, the actual path of the balloon will be compared to the initial predicted path. The system will be analyze and optimized to fix any failures.
8

Bruce Rahn is taking the role of the electrical engineering students this year. He is going to make the communication package and work on giving package that amount of power we calculate that it needs for the full 24 hours. The communications package is initially going to be about 6 pounds giving 6 pounds for other package weight.
2.3
Second Launch
The second launch will take place in March after analysis is conducted from the results of the first launch. The goal of the second launch is to provide station keeping and meet the requirements of the problem statement.
3 EXPECTED RESULTS
The High Altitude Balloon Team will attempt two launches, the first in January/ February 2013 and the second in February/March 2013.The first launch will establish the mechanism to change altitude to find a preferable wind. Based on altitude and the equation mentioned in the Introduction, a maximum allowable wind speed will be determined. The mechanism will allow a change in altitude to alter wind speed and direction.
Data has been collected on the intended launch months to determine if favorable winds can be reached at this time. In order to determine if the winds are favorable, a maximum allowable wind speed was calculated based upon altitude. The collected data was then compared to this maximum to determine the feasibility of the proposed launch. The maximum allowable wind speed assumes no change in wind direction. This means that if the balloon were to maintain one constant speed and direction for the duration of the 24 hour launch the balloon would travel the maximum allowable drift range and still
maintain necessary communications. The maximum wind speeds can be found in Table 2 .
Altitude Range
(kft)
Table 2: Maximum Allowable Wind Speed
Average
Altitude (kft)
Communication
Radius (mi)
Max Drift
(mi)
60-70 65 361 421
Allowable
Speed Average
(MPH)
17.4
70-80
80-90
90-100
100-110
75
85
95
105
387
412
436
458
474
524
572
616
19.7
21.8
23.7
25.6
9

The wind data collected in February 2012 was then broken down by day into the ranges
corresponding to the first column of Table 2.The data was then compared to the allowable speed averages based on the last column of Table 2. Based on these comparisons the data could fall into one of
three categories: “Below Average” meaning the speed fell below the allowable speed, these speeds are favorable; “Above Average” meaning the speed was greater than the allowable speed, these speeds are not favorable; and “Insufficient Data” meaning there was no collected data for that day in the specified altitude range. The data was then compiled to find the percentage of times data points fell into a specific category compared to the total number of data points in a given range. These values can be found in
Table 3.
Altitude
Range (kft)
60-70
70-80
80-90
90-100
100-110
Overall
Table 3: Wind Data February 2012
Below
Maximum
21%
62%
72%
38%
17%
42%
Above
Maximum
79%
38%
28%
55%
14%
43%
Insufficient
Data
0%
0%
0%
7%
69%
15%
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
When the wind speeds are below the allowable speed averages, it is assumed that the balloon would be able to travel at a constant altitude, with constant wind speed and direction, and not travel beyond the maximum drift limit. When the wind speeds are above average, it would be necessary to change altitudes to find alternating wind speeds and directions to keep the balloon within the maximum drift range. On 4 of the 29 days in February 2012, the wind speeds were greater than the allowable speed in all ranges. This would be one such case where alternating directions would be necessary in the control of the balloon.
The wind direction in the month of February 2012 varies from east to west at altitudes higher than
60,000 feet as can be seen in Figure 6 below. The direction follows that of a compass rose; therefore
anything below 180˚ has an eastern direction while anything above 180 ˚ has a western direction. If the balloon were to travel too far in one direction, the balloon would be able to change altitudes to find an opposing wind direction to bring the balloon back in to the allowable drift area.
10

360
270
180
90
DRCT
0
60000 70000 80000
Altitude (ft)
90000 100000 110000
Figure 6: Wind Direction February 2012
The graphical data for wind speeds for the month of February 2011 can be found in Figure 7 .
11

150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
60000
Wind Speed
70000 80000 90000
Altitude (ft)
100000 110000
Figure 7: Wind Speeds February 2012
The March launch will focus on improvement of the altitude changing mechanism and correcting any complications that arise during the first launch. Some anticipated complications include failure of electronic components due to temperature below their standard operating range, loss of contact with the balloon package, and the balloon package drifting beyond the allowable range. Data for the wind speeds the months of February and March for the past 2 years can be found in Appendix B.
Based upon collected wind data, the balloon can stay within the necessary communications range without use of a propulsion system. Using different altitudes the balloon will be able to find changing wind speeds and directions to control the balloon. The analysis of the data shows practical winds speeds can be reached between 60,000 and 100,000 feet.
4 BUDGET AND PERSONNEL
This budget is based on previous Wright State balloon systems with estimations of what would be needed for the new system and is subjected to change.
(2)
Table 4: Budget (2)
12

#1600grams Balloon
#Infrared Montgolfiere (solar balloon)
#Helium
*Parachute
*GPS Receiver
^Lithium Ion Batteries
*Ham Radio
^CPVC and Hose Clamps for Parachute
^Great Stuff Foam
^Molex Connectors
^Jumper Wire: JST Black Red
*Micro SD Card
*Logomatic V2 Serial SD Data logger
*Battery Holder
^Emergency Replacements
$120.00 1
$200.00 1
$96.00 1
$50.00 1
$53.50 1
$100.00 3
$400.00 6
$15.90
1
$3.98
3
$36.67
1
$0.95
1
$5.00
1
$59.95
1
$15.19
1
$300.00
1
Total Costs
$3,665.10
Equipment $2,583.64
Project/Package $665.46
Expendables
(per launch) $416
13

5 REFERENCES
1. Federal Aviation Administration. FAA Federal Aviation Regulations (FARS, 14 CFR). Flight Aviation Zone.
[Online] [Cited: November 5, 2012.] http://www.flightsimaviation.com/data/FARS/part_101.html.
2. Erford, Michelle, Henry, Emily and Nay, James. High Altitude Balloon Proposal. Dayton, OH : Wright State
University, November 9, 2011.
3. Jones, Jack A. LONG−LIFE STRATOSPHERIC BALLOON SYSTEM WITH ALTITUDE CONTROL. PASADENA,
CALIFORNIA : JET PROPULSION LABORATORY, January 1, 2002.
4. Welcome to Solar-Balloons.com. Solar-Balloons.com. [Online] December 26, 2011. [Cited: November 7, 2012.] http://www.solar-balloons.com/.
5. Besset, Laurent, Laurent, Emmanuel and Auvray, Gerard. 4m (13 ft) diameter solar balloon data. Solar
Balloons. [Online] April 4, 2004. [Cited: 12 1, 2012.] http://ballonsolaire.pagesperso-orange.fr/en-index.htm.
14

Appendix A: Personnel
15

16

17

18

Appendix B: Wind Data
Figure 8: Wind Speeds February 2011
Figure 9: Wind Direction February 2011
19

Figure 10: Wind Speed March 2011
Figure 11: Wind Direction March 2011
20

Figure 12: Wind Speed March 2012
Figure 13: Wind Direction March 2012
21

Appendix C: Timeline
Table 5: Timeline for Project
Activity
Building Team
Acquiring Lic.
Title Page & Abstract Due
Study for Radio License
Researching Designs
Equpment Training
Final Basic Design
Proposal Draft Due
Proposal Presentations
Fabricating Vehicle
Testing Vehicle Properties
Incorporating EE Componets
Initial Testing
1st Flight
Design Analysis and Modifications
2nd Flight and Conclusions
Analyze Data
Write Final Report
1