Finite Element Simulation of the Microstructure of Stratospheric Airship Envelopes

There has been considerable interest in stratospheric airships that have their unique role in environmental monitoring and surveillance, communication transmission, and carrying weapons, among other uses. The problem presented in this paper is that the test values of pressure resistance are far from the theoretical values of spherical balls, which are made up of plain-weave fabrics. In this paper, the uniaxial tension in structural layers has been tested to certify the validity of the finite element analysis (FEA) models. A boundary condition that is suitable for airship envelope simulation analysis is also proposed here. Using the secondary development function of Abaqus, an FEA model of three-dimensional plain-weave fabric is then established to simulate the envelope inflation experiments. Finally, the stress behavior of the microstructure of plain-weave fabric is summarized, and several conclusions are obtained.