Torsional balloon flight line oscillations: Comparison of modelling to flight data
Abstract
During the EBEX2013 long duration flight the payload was free to rotate in azimuth. The observed azimuth motion consisted of a superposition of full rotations with a period of 10—30 min and oscillatory motion with an amplitude of tens of degrees, average period of 79 s, and period dispersion of 12 s. We interpret the full rotations as induced by slow rotations of the balloon and the shorter period oscillatory motion as due to torsional oscillations of the flight line. We derive the torsional stiffness of the flight line using the bifilar pendulum model and apply it to the flight line of the EBEX2013 payload. We find a torsional spring constant of 36 kg m 2/s 2 corresponding to a period of 58 s. Here, we conclude that the bifilar model, which accounts for the geometry of the flight line but neglects all material properties, predicts a stiffness and period that are 45% larger and 25% shorter than those observed. It is useful to have a simple, easy to use, coarse approximation for the torsional constant of the flight line.
- Authors:
- Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). School of Physics and Astronomy
- Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX (United States)
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Physics Dept.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC).
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) (SC-21)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1462045
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Advances in Space Research
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 60; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0273-1177
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Balloons; Gondola motion; Bifilar pendulum
Citation Formats
Aubin, Francois, Bayman, Benjamin, Hanany, Shaul, Franco, Hugo, Marsh, Justin, Didier, Joy, and Miller, Amber D. Torsional balloon flight line oscillations: Comparison of modelling to flight data. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2017.05.003.
Aubin, Francois, Bayman, Benjamin, Hanany, Shaul, Franco, Hugo, Marsh, Justin, Didier, Joy, & Miller, Amber D. Torsional balloon flight line oscillations: Comparison of modelling to flight data. United States. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2017.05.003.
Aubin, Francois, Bayman, Benjamin, Hanany, Shaul, Franco, Hugo, Marsh, Justin, Didier, Joy, and Miller, Amber D. Wed .
"Torsional balloon flight line oscillations: Comparison of modelling to flight data". United States. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2017.05.003. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1462045.
@article{osti_1462045,
title = {Torsional balloon flight line oscillations: Comparison of modelling to flight data},
author = {Aubin, Francois and Bayman, Benjamin and Hanany, Shaul and Franco, Hugo and Marsh, Justin and Didier, Joy and Miller, Amber D.},
abstractNote = {During the EBEX2013 long duration flight the payload was free to rotate in azimuth. The observed azimuth motion consisted of a superposition of full rotations with a period of 10—30 min and oscillatory motion with an amplitude of tens of degrees, average period of 79 s, and period dispersion of 12 s. We interpret the full rotations as induced by slow rotations of the balloon and the shorter period oscillatory motion as due to torsional oscillations of the flight line. We derive the torsional stiffness of the flight line using the bifilar pendulum model and apply it to the flight line of the EBEX2013 payload. We find a torsional spring constant of 36 kg m2/s2 corresponding to a period of 58 s. Here, we conclude that the bifilar model, which accounts for the geometry of the flight line but neglects all material properties, predicts a stiffness and period that are 45% larger and 25% shorter than those observed. It is useful to have a simple, easy to use, coarse approximation for the torsional constant of the flight line.},
doi = {10.1016/j.asr.2017.05.003},
journal = {Advances in Space Research},
number = 3,
volume = 60,
place = {United States},
year = {2017},
month = {5}
}