AN INVESTIGATION OF A HOT-AIR BALLOON HORIZONTAL MOTION IN CONDITIONS OF A HORIZONTAL THRUST FORCE APPLICATION

Balloons perform flights during which they can transport passengers and equipment over considerable distances. However, one problem associated with these aircraft is landing in confined areas, particularly in densely populated regions of Europe or mountainous terrain, where the number of suitable landing sites is limited. Installing a propulsion system equipped with a propeller generating thrust in the horizontal plane is a feasible way to solve this problem. General data which need for propulsion system investigated in this work. A computational fluid simulation of balloon aerodynamics and an experiment with a full-scale balloon were conducted to determine the required propulsion system parameters for installation on the balloon basket. During the research, the balloon's aerodynamic drag was determined, the influence of balloon deformation on flight dynamics was assessed, and the maximum wind speed that the balloon could withstand when equipped with the propulsion system was identified. Modeling the dynamics of the balloon's motion based on experimental results made it possible to determine the aircraft's response time to propulsion system activation. In particular, the influence of different values of propulsive thrust on the behavior of the balloon was investigated.