Aerostat is an aerodynamically shaped tethered body, belonging to the family of Lighter Than Air (LTA) vehicles. Aerostat envelopes are filled with a LTA gas (which is Helium or Hydrogen in most cases) and thus generate lift due to buoyancy, which is used to raise a given payload to a certain height. The aerodynamically shaped envelope has least drag when it is aligned with the direction of wind. Hence, adequately sized fins have to be provided on the envelope to impart it stability during wind disturbances. The tether load is distributed across the several points along the length of the envelope through ropes called confluence lines to avoid excessive load on the membrane at a single point. The confluence lines are joined with the tether at the confluence point through a pivot which allows the aerostat to rotate freely and align with the direction of the wind. Payloads in modern day aerostats are usually radars, surveillance cameras or communication equipment. In order to deploy more sophisticated equipment on aerostats, it is always desirable to increase their payload capacity, without compromising on their operating altitude. The envelope shape affects the payload capacity of an aerostat in several ways. This paper discusses an MDO approach for identifying the shape of an aerostat envelope that results in the largest payload capacity for a given envelope volume. Effect of envelope shape on payload capacity The envelope shape affects the payload capacity in the following ways 1)Surface Area: The envelope weight is decided by the Total Surface Area (TSA) of the envelope. W env =TSA* ρ matl where *Sr.
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