Study of Airship Stability Based on a Low Resistance Profile

Numerical simulation was conducted to investigate the external flow around airships with different tail layout, with the help of FLUENT 14.5, based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation and SST turbulent model. The aerodynamic information of the airships with different tail layout, such as pressure coefficient, torque coefficient and pressure distribution, were analyzed, and the numerical results showed the details of the airship surface flow and changes with different attack angle. According to the results, different tail layout had important influences on the aerodynamics and stability of airship. This will help to understand the aerodynamic characters around the tails of the stratospheric airship, and provide a reference in choosing tail layouts and the stability design of airships.