Yarn Tensile Experiments and Numerical Simulations Based on the Decomposition of Stratospheric Airship Envelopes

As a cost-effective high-altitude platform, stratospheric airships have attracted widespread research interest. A number of studies focused on the mechanical performance of the airship envelope, which is the key system in the construction of the whole airship structure. However, few researchers have addressed the strength correlation between the stratospheric airship envelope material and its base fabric yarns. This study uses microphotography to observe the weave geometry of a particular envelope material and conducts a decomposition process to obtain intact yarns. Tensile tests are performed on both the yarn and envelope. Stress-strain curves are drawn based on the test data, and the discreteness of the specimen is found to be noteworthy. A novel finite-element method model is proposed according to the plain weave structure and the tensile parameters of the yarn and is found to properly simulate the uniaxial tensile behavior of the envelope. Future work may focus on an extensive application of the model for fields such as biaxial tensile performance. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.