Frame for lighter-than-air aircraft.

[GTeclips]

Hello everyone.

I have been trying to think of some practical and cheap airship designs. I have done some calculating, and if you were to have an airship's envelope in a cylindrical shape that is 300' long and 75' in diameter, it would be able to lift approximately around 45 tons if filled with hydrogen as a lifting gas (Not factoring in the atmospheric affects on the hydrogen's density) (Not including the weight of the envelope nor gonadal).

Question: If you were to have an envelope of this design, would it require a frame, and if so, what would be the best material to make it out of (Factoring in the weight and cost of said material)?

*Note* I do not actually intend on constructing a lighter-than-air aircraft. This is just an interest of mine.

 

[jehake12]

Check out blimps/Hindenburg/hydrogen.

Are you proposing something fundamentally different?

 

[CWatters]

Any vessel that relies on internal pressure for rigidity will try to turn itself into a sphere. How do you stop the flat ends becoming domed? Anyway you want them domed so it goes through the air more easily. See also what jehake12 said.

 

[GTeclips]

Thank you for the replies!

I have actually done some debugging to my design, it would appear that a semi-rigid frame would be the logical choice, holding the general shape of the envelope and allowing the gas pressure to do the rest.

I would plan on crafting the frame of aluminum rods. My only concern is that if I made the frame of aluminum rods, it would weight the craft down too much, but if I use hollowed out aluminum piping, it would lose it's shape. Do any of you have any thoughts on a possible solution?