DESIGN OF A HOT AIR BALLOON

ME 4429 Thermofluid Applications and Design

Submitted by:
Jeffrey Brathwaite
Matthew Lepine

Submitted to:
Prof. Seluk Geri
Milad Farzad

January 30, 2017

Table of Contents
PROBLEM STATEMENT....................................................................3
ASSUMPTIONS...............................................................................3
PHYSICS........................................................................................4
CALCULATING THE WEIGHT OF THE BALLOON..........................................................4
ARCHIMEDES BUOYANCY PRINCIPLE......................................................................4
HEAT LOSS...................................................................................................... 5
PHASES OF FLIGHT............................................................................................ 5
Phase 1: Ground........................................................................................ 5
Phase 2: Ground to 4,000 Feet.................................................................6
Phase 3: Cruising at 4,000 Feet................................................................6
CONCLUSION.................................................................................6
Problem Statement
The task is to design a spherical hot air balloon capable of flying
five people at an elevation of 4,000 feet for a one-hour flight. The
objectives are to determine the size of the balloon and to determine
the amount of propane needed to complete the flight.

Assumptions
There were many assumptions made throughout the design
process. When explaining the steps taken, some of these assumptions
will be restated. This is the full list of these assumptions.
Balloon is of spherical shape
Balloon operates with propane gas
Containment weight for propane is 60% of the weight of the fuel
Balloon is made of rubber-silicon impregnated nylon
Air behaves like an ideal gas
Weight of the basket includes the burners
Anything not included in the weight calculations that could add
weight is to be ignored
Goal temperature for the balloon when at cruising altitude is
200F
Atmospheric pressure is equal to the pressure of the heated air
inside the balloon
No change in gravity between the ground and the 4,000-foot
cruising elevation
Takeoff acceleration should be between 0.4-0.6 g (12.87-19.30
ft/s2)
Ignore air seeping through fabric
Temperature increases linearly over time
Temperature distribution in the balloon is uniform
Estimated heat loss is constant throughout
Physics
This section contains all of the calculations for the project, with
an explanation of the process.

Calculating the Weight of the Balloon

The weight of the balloon is important, since it is a critical part
of the force balance, found in the next section. There are five main
factors when calculating the weight of the components; there are the
people, the basket (which includes the burners), the propane fuel, the
container for the fuel, and the balloons envelope fabric. In addition,
the weight of the air inside the balloon makes up a majority of the
total weight of the system. We assumed that any other minor weight is
not relevant, and should therefore be ignored.
We guessed that the five people in the hot air balloon weigh an
average of 200 lbf; this is purposely above average, to add in a small
factor of safety or to account for a heavier group. We estimated the
weight of the basket/burner combination to weigh approximately 200
lbf.i For the propane, we made an approximation based on what some
hot air balloons use, which was then adjusted after a couple of
iterations of the design to better reflect the fuel needs of the hot air
balloon, as well as an added factor of safety.
To calculate the volume, surface area, and weight of the
envelope fabric, we defined a radius for the balloon, as well as a
radius for the hole in the balloon. We had previously decided that a
target temperature for the balloon was to be 200F, which is a slightly
lower temperature than most hot air balloons travel at; because of
this, the balloon is above average in size. These radius values were
adjusted to account for buoyancy forces in the iterative design
process. We also assumed that the fabric is 0.06 inches, or 0.005 feet,
thick. For the volume calculations, we assumed that the material had
the same density as ripstop nylon, a material often used for hot air
balloons; we also did not include the wall thickness in the calculations
of the volume, since it is too small a difference to make a difference.
The calculations are attached on the attached sheets of
engineering paper. ii

Archimedes Buoyancy Principle

Buoyancy is the driving force behind the operation of a hot air
balloon. For these calculations, we used U.S. Atmospheric Air
properties.iii For all of the calculations, please see the attached
calculation sheets.
The buoyancy equation used is the following:
F B=( atm inside )V inside
The net force equation used is the following:
Fnet =W F B
There are some assumptions that go along with this section.
One is that the atmospheric pressure is equal to the pressure of the
heated air inside the balloon. Another is that there is no change in
gravity between the ground and the 4,000-foot cruising elevation. We
also decided that the takeoff acceleration should be between 0.4-0.6 g
(12.87-19.30 ft/s2).

Heat Loss
When working through the calculations, I used an approximate
value for the rate of heat loss. We chose the 15 W/m2K value on the
higher end of the suggested value range (10-15 W/m2K), which is
approximately equal to 2.6 Btu/(hr*ft2*F). This value includes
conduction through the fabric, convection, and radiation. We used this
value throughout the three phases of flight, discussed in the next
section. We made the assumption for this that the air seeping through
the fabric was negligible and could be ignored.
Phases of Flight
There are three phases that are the focus of this project. There
is the phase in which the balloon is prepared to fly, by heating the air
inside of it. Next, there is the flight up to the goal of the 4,000-foot
elevation. Finally, there is the hour-long flight at the cruising altitude
of 4,000 feet. The calculations for each of these phases are on the
attached calculation sheets.

Phase 1: Ground
For the first two phases, we assumed that the temperature of
the air increased linearly over time. We also assumed (for all three
phases) that the temperature distribution in the balloon was uniform.
For this first phase, we also assumed that all of the air that was going
to be heated was already inside of the envelope, to simplify the
calculations.
We first calculated heat required to provide the temperature
change from the atmospheric temperature of 59F to the final 150F.
Next, we assumed that the balloon could be filled in 15 minutes. iv We
then calculated the heat being lost during this time. Finally, we added
the heat needed for the temperature change and the heat lost during
that time period, which produced the total heat requirement for this
phase. The amount of propane required was calculated from this
value.

Phase 2: Ground to 4,000 Feet

The calculation of this phase was somewhat similar to the
calculation of the first phase. Ignoring heat loss, the amount of heat
required to heat the balloon from 150F to the final temperature of
200F was calculated. Then, taking the average acceleration from the
buoyancy calculations, the time it took for the ascent was calculated.
Drag and air resistance was ignored for this ascent; nevertheless, this
leg of the journey makes up such a small amount of the total amount
of propane needed that the added factor of safety propane would take
care of any extra heat generation necessary for this phase of the
flight.

Phase 3: Cruising at 4,000 Feet

This phase of the flight is unique in that the only heat required
is only necessary to counteract the heat loss that the balloon
experiences. Therefore, heat loss is the only calculation necessary for
this section. Once the amount of heat required was computed, the
amount of propane necessary was calculated.

Conclusion
The design of a hot air balloon includes a complex mix of
thermodynamics and heat transfer. Once buoyancy of the 40-foot-
radius balloon was calculated, the three phases of flight could be
defined. The first phase used 0.767 cubic feet of propane from a
ground source, which did not have to be carried on the flight. The
ascent used a mere 0.059 cubic feet of propane in the matter of
seconds it took to reach cruising altitude. Finally, the third phasethe
bulk of the tripused 10.311 cubic feet of propane. Combining the
second and third phases, the balloon would have to carry 10.370 cubic
feet of propane, although we added a layer of safety by including 13.5
cubic feet of propane, just in case of problems or miscalculations.
i https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon
ii Unless otherwise specified, the material properties were found at:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/
iii http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/standard-atmosphere-d_604.html
iv http://www.hotairballooning.com/faq/entry/4/