Capabilities - Lighter than Air

Tensys Dynamics was established to exploit Tensys analytical skills and tools in areas beyond our traditional field of stressed membrane and cable-net architectural structures. We offer consulting services covering a wide range of high-performance tension structure design topics, particularly airship envelope engineering. A full Scope of Services document may be found on the Downloads page.

Current Dynamics activities include the design of envelopes for a new type of aircraft, the Hybrid Air Vehicle (HAV), investigations of high-altitude tethered aerostats and the design of very large kite sails for use in auxiliary propulsion for cargo ships.

Hybrid Air Vehicles are heavy lift aircraft combining a lifting-body hull-form, providing aerodynamic lift, with buoyancy from helium. The hull-forms of these vehicles are not radially symmetrical, nor are they amenable to simplified analysis techniques. Design software in use within the aerospace industry does not have the shape generation, fabric analysis and patterning capabilities of inTENS, so Tensys Dynamics has been responsible for the design, analysis and patterning of the hulls of several large-scale flying HAV demonstrators. Studies are now underway on a full size 30-ton lift vehicle, with serious interest in a 500-ton lift version.

Our inTENS software has been extended to include closed gas cells, with the option of constant pressure, volume, or mass control under load. Unit lift may be included to model differential gas pressures and overall lift forces. Modelling of internal ballonet conditions is also being investigated, so that the complete vehicle may be modelled under varying flight conditions.