RUNNING HEAD: PROJECT ZEPHYR PROGRESS REPORT 8 1

Project Zephyr

Progress Report 8

Vallabi Vallaban

Kelly Crocker

Noah Wong

February 23, 2017

Objective:

This time was spent determining the Mylar and valve configurations and testing the solar panels.

Previous Objective:

The focus of this time was finishing the support diagram and designing the payload container

while receiving and cataloguing new materials.

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Materials and Methods

Figure 1: Calculations (using equations 1 and 2) to approximate the circumference of the

cross-section of the blimp were conducted in an effort to determine the length of Mylar

necessary to wrap around the blimp.

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Figure 2: Calculation 3 was performed to approximate the circumference of the cross-section of

the blimp.

Figure 3: The decided Mylar configuration for the blimp consists of two sheets of Mylar

wrapping around the body of the blimp with two nosepieces joining the ends at either point.
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Figure 4: This is the nosecone design for the blimp as based upon other models.

One of the major focuses during this time was coming to a decision about how the Mylar

would be oriented around the blimp frame. The team opted to have a basic design with two

sheets of Mylar, each roughly 5.3 m long, wrapping around the belly of the blimp and forming a

seam around the circumference of the blimp. The length of Mylar needed was calculated by the

equations shown in Figures 1 and 2 to find the circumference of the blimp. This will take up

roughly one roll of Mylar leaving the other one to be used for repairs, seams around the rudder,

payload container, and valve, as well as nosecone pieces. A nosecone is meant to gather all the

loose, jagged ends of the two main sheets of Mylar around the ends of the blimp and provide a

surface to heat seal them all together and maintain an airtight pocket within the blimp.
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Figure 5: This Inventor sketch shows the configuration of the payload container to house the

electronic components of the blimp.

The payload container was completed in Inventor with a lid, or rather, removable bottom,

added to the design to allow for the insertion of the electronic devices while keeping an airtight

seal with the air pocket. The container itself will not be airtight, as the sensors need access to the

atmosphere in order to give accurate readings. Also, the design allows for air holes to be drilled

through the walls of the payload container for cooling purposes, as the electronics are in a plastic

box and the team would like to keep everything from melting. The design was submitted for 3D

printing and the team is eagerly awaiting its arrival.

While the payload container was being designed and sent off for printing, the epoxy and

foam board to make the actual frame of the blimp were ordered and are expected to arrive within
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the near future. Two 8ft by 4ft by 0.75in sheets of foam board will be used to construct the struts

for the blimp frame.

In addition to the Mylar, payload container, and supports, the team investigated the

necessary connection to transfer helium from an industrial tank and into the blimp. It was

discovered that the general connection on an inert gas industrial tank is a CGA-580 connection.

However, there is a possibility that the tank the team will order will not have this connection, so

an adaptor has not been bought at this time. Despite this uncertainty, the team has a plan in place

with which to insert helium into the blimp. An adaptor will be purchased to connect the tank to

an air hose. This air hose will deliver helium into the blimp through a small fortified flap that

will be epoxied shut when the filling process is finished.

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Data and Results

Measured Voltage Output of Solar Panels

Trial Panel A Output Panel B Output Panel C Output Panel D Output

(V) (V) (V) (V)

1 21.7 21.3 21.6 21.4

2 21.1 20.9 21.3 21.1

3 21.3 21.3 21.3 21.0

4 21.1 21.0 21.1 21.0

5 21.1 20.7 21.1 20.9

6 21.2 20.9 21.2 21.1

7 21.3 21.0 21.3 21.3

Average 21.257 21.014 21.271 21.114

Overall 21.164
Average
Figure 6: Data from the experiment performed on 21 February 2017, to discover the average

output of solar panels A,B,C and D.

The main experimental aspect of this time came from the testing of the solar panels to

determine their average output voltage. The panels, stored in boxes labeled with their letter, were

laid on the concrete half wall outside of Discovery Hall on the George Mason campus at

Innovation Park. They were arranged in alphabetical order and positioned on top of their

respective boxes in order to avoid any shadows. The voltage reading was taken with a multimeter

seven times over the course of fifteen minutes starting at 9:40 am. The procedure of one trial was

to take the reading from Panel A, then move on to Panel B about 25 seconds later. When Panel D

had been tested, a new trial was immediately begun starting again with a reading from Panel A.
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As shown in Figure 7 below, the outputs were relatively consistent taking into account

minute shifts in the weather and the cloud cover that moved in about 3 minutes into the

experiment. This conclusion is supported by the higher voltages output during Trial 1 when there

was a lack of cloud cover. The average voltage of 21.16 supports the need for a step down

converter to bridge the gap between the solar charge converter and Raspberry Pi, which runs on

5V.

Figure 7: This graph shows the output of each solar panel according to trial number.
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Resources

Freudenrich, P. C. (2001, February 26). How Blimps Work. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/blimp1.htm.

GAS CONNECTION ASSIGNMENT TABLE . (1999, March). Retrieved February 22, 2017,

from http://mfc.engr.arizona.edu/documents/gas%20finttings%20connections.htm.