Kristiana entered the aptly named Drawing Room and warmly greeted the four engineers from Antarctica. They had already placed the drawings of the first zeppelin in over 300 years on a large table.
A number of notable women in Union history had been named Kristiana, but she knew why that name had been chosen for the prototype.
One engineer started explaining almost immediately. It was clear that she had rehearsed her talk hundreds of times in her mind and likely dozens of time aloud.
"She will have 9,650 cubic meters of gas. 7,120 cubic meters of hydrogen in six cells or bags. The balance being an inert gas shell in nine bags around the hydrogen. The inert gas will be heated directly from a fraction of the waste heat from the generators. Of course, the hydrogen, being surrounded by hot air, will also warm up as well.
This lifting power will support a titanium frame, stubby titanium wings, a gondola with two diesel generators and three maneuverable and two semi-fixed electric motors with propellers.
A variable fraction of the waste heat from the two diesel generators in the gondola will be used to heat the inert gas envelope as much, or as little, as required. So Kristiana will be both a Lighter than Air, the hydrogen, and Hot Air, the inert gas, airship.
Lift will come from both the hydrogen and the warmed inert air. The inert air will be mostly nitrogen and water vapor with a bit of neon and helium. The mix will be slightly lightly than air. Plus, when moving, the two wings can add a bit more lift. This should allow much higher operational ceilings than historical zeppelins.
"How high ?" Kristiana asked ?
We think almost 2,800 meters the lead engineer answered. The limiting factor is how much the various bags can expand as she rises into thinner air.
The younger engineer continued: "By putting an oxygen-less gas between the hydrogen and the outside air, we hope to almost eliminate the risk of a hydrogen fire. A flame has difficulty supporting itself if the oxygen in air & hydrogen are mixed with enough inert gas. If the hydrogen gas bag tears, the outer inert gas bag will be torn as well, so the two types of gases will mix with air."
Our inert gas is mainly nitrogen, some water vapor and as much neon and helium as we can mine from the exhaust from our geothermal plants - North and South. The hydrogen also has some water vapor mixed in as well.
If needed, the hydrogen can bled slowly into the air intake of the diesel engines, serving as a range extender. The inert air will be warmed more to counter the reduced hydrogen.
In early tests, the Kristiana will carry almost five tonnes of sand, to drop as needed. The sand will be split between the tips of the two wings, fore and aft and the gondola under the center of gravity. In addition, the two aluminum-air batteries can be dropped from the gondola in an emergency.
The wings add a bit of lift, but their main function is to increase maneuverability. They have slats on the wings to change their shape, as Old World airplanes did. The wings can also be rotated up 22.5 degrees up or down 15 degrees. With an electric propellor on each wing, they can push the Kristiana up or down quickly. And changing the power on one wing versus the other makes for a quicker turn as well.
We have prepared over 100 questions and issues to discuss with the engineers, professors and technical historians of the North on our trip here. So there may be a few, or many, changes to the design you see before you when the Kristiana is built.
After the Kristiana is successfully tested, we hope to build the Union of Scandinavia & Antarctica Zeppelin #2, the Katrina. She should be about three times as large.
The choice of Katrina staggered her, and brought tears to her eyes. She thanked them for that choice.
After an embarrassing pause, the lead engineer took over. "The volume of the inert gas ballon will vary with temperature, while the hydrogen will be more constant in volume. So the titanium frame is built around the hydrogen balloons and connects to a larger frame that cradles most of the lower half of the inert gas balloon. The wings are connected with a wing spar between fore & aft hydrogen balloons with a small inert air balloon between them.
The wings will each have a rearward facing propeller driven by an electric motor mounted inside the wing.
In addition there will be three electric motors with propellers mounted on the bottom of the zeppelin that can each swivel almost 360 degrees. Two will be forward of the gondola, to the port & starboard and the third will be inline with the gondola and aft. The aft third motor & propeller will be a bit larger than the forward motors. The wing mounted motors will be the largest ones.
A skilled pilot may be able to use the three bottom propellers to hover over a spot in a mild wind.
If some of the hydrogen is consumed as fuel, an inert gas balloon between the fore and aft hydrogen balloons will expand, keeping the volume inside the inner frame constant.
The electrical generators will condense the water in their exhaust. The weight of the collected water will help balance the weight if the fuel burned. This water can be dropped as needed as ballast later.
The crew and passenger part of the gondola will be built as a robust life boat, with an aluminum-air battery inside for radio and a small electric motor & screw. It is also built with crush zones and cushioning for a fall on land.
A previously silent engineer added "We are concerned about winds higher than the top speed of Kristiana. We can drop an anchor to help stabilize her. On land a metal ball full of sand and 550 meters of nylon rope. At sea, an open nylon bag that drags through the water.
A variable fraction of the waste heat from the two diesel generators in the gondola will be used to heat the inert gas envelope as much, or as little, as required. So Kristiana will be both a Lighter than Air, the hydrogen, and Hot Air, the inert gas, airship.
Lift will come from both the hydrogen and the warmed inert air. The inert air will be mostly nitrogen and water vapor with a bit of neon and helium. The mix will be slightly lightly than air. Plus, when moving, the two wings can add a bit more lift. This should allow much higher operational ceilings than historical zeppelins.
"How high ?" Kristiana asked ?
We think almost 2,800 meters the lead engineer answered. The limiting factor is how much the various bags can expand as she rises into thinner air.
The unframed open top will allow the inert gas balloons to greatly expand. The hydrogen balloons -or bags- are enclosed inside the inner frame. As they expand they will force air out of the 9th inert gas cell inserted between the hydrogen cells. Plus some of the hydrogen can be consumed as fuel.
At a later date, we may add three balloons outside the frame for additional lift if there is a need for even greater altitude. Two below the midline, lengthwise, at 120 and 240 degrees (with 0 being the top) and a third attached to the top center.
Very tentatively we would make the top bag hydrogen and the bottom two bags heated inert gas. We might be able to reach 4,000 meters, but at a sacrifice in speed due to the increased drag.
This might be needed to cross some mountain ranges, or to pass overhead undetected.
The younger engineer continued: "By putting an oxygen-less gas between the hydrogen and the outside air, we hope to almost eliminate the risk of a hydrogen fire. A flame has difficulty supporting itself if the oxygen in air & hydrogen are mixed with enough inert gas. If the hydrogen gas bag tears, the outer inert gas bag will be torn as well, so the two types of gases will mix with air."
Our inert gas is mainly nitrogen, some water vapor and as much neon and helium as we can mine from the exhaust from our geothermal plants - North and South. The hydrogen also has some water vapor mixed in as well.
If needed, the hydrogen can bled slowly into the air intake of the diesel engines, serving as a range extender. The inert air will be warmed more to counter the reduced hydrogen.
In early tests, the Kristiana will carry almost five tonnes of sand, to drop as needed. The sand will be split between the tips of the two wings, fore and aft and the gondola under the center of gravity. In addition, the two aluminum-air batteries can be dropped from the gondola in an emergency.
The wings add a bit of lift, but their main function is to increase maneuverability. They have slats on the wings to change their shape, as Old World airplanes did. The wings can also be rotated up 22.5 degrees up or down 15 degrees. With an electric propellor on each wing, they can push the Kristiana up or down quickly. And changing the power on one wing versus the other makes for a quicker turn as well.
We have prepared over 100 questions and issues to discuss with the engineers, professors and technical historians of the North on our trip here. So there may be a few, or many, changes to the design you see before you when the Kristiana is built.
After the Kristiana is successfully tested, we hope to build the Union of Scandinavia & Antarctica Zeppelin #2, the Katrina. She should be about three times as large.
The choice of Katrina staggered her, and brought tears to her eyes. She thanked them for that choice.
After an embarrassing pause, the lead engineer took over. "The volume of the inert gas ballon will vary with temperature, while the hydrogen will be more constant in volume. So the titanium frame is built around the hydrogen balloons and connects to a larger frame that cradles most of the lower half of the inert gas balloon. The wings are connected with a wing spar between fore & aft hydrogen balloons with a small inert air balloon between them.
The wings will each have a rearward facing propeller driven by an electric motor mounted inside the wing.
In addition there will be three electric motors with propellers mounted on the bottom of the zeppelin that can each swivel almost 360 degrees. Two will be forward of the gondola, to the port & starboard and the third will be inline with the gondola and aft. The aft third motor & propeller will be a bit larger than the forward motors. The wing mounted motors will be the largest ones.
A skilled pilot may be able to use the three bottom propellers to hover over a spot in a mild wind.
If some of the hydrogen is consumed as fuel, an inert gas balloon between the fore and aft hydrogen balloons will expand, keeping the volume inside the inner frame constant.
The electrical generators will condense the water in their exhaust. The weight of the collected water will help balance the weight if the fuel burned. This water can be dropped as needed as ballast later.
There will be two light weight 1.3 MW bio-diesel generators mounted in the gondola. In normal operation, just one will needed most of the time. In addition, she will have eight aluminum-air batteries that can provide up to 1.5 MW for a few hours.
The crew and passenger part of the gondola will be built as a robust life boat, with an aluminum-air battery inside for radio and a small electric motor & screw. It is also built with crush zones and cushioning for a fall on land.
A previously silent engineer added "We are concerned about winds higher than the top speed of Kristiana. We can drop an anchor to help stabilize her. On land a metal ball full of sand and 550 meters of nylon rope. At sea, an open nylon bag that drags through the water.
How fast will her top speed be ?
Without using her aluminum-air batteries, she should be able to sustain a cruising speed of over 100 kph for several days.
A maximum emergency speed, using her batteries, should be well above 135 kph.
Airships! Awesome!
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