Computational Modeling and Experiments of Natural Convection for a Titan Montgolfiere

Computational models are developed to predict the natural convection heat transfer and buoyancy for a Montgolfiere under conditions relevant to the Titan atmosphere. Idealized single and double-walled balloon geometries are simulated using algorithms suitable for both laminar and (averaged) turbulent convection. Steady-state performance results are compared to existing heat transfer coefficient correlations. The laminar results, in particular, are used to test the validity of the correlations in the absence of uncertainties associated with turbulence modeling. Some discrepancies are observed, especially for convection in the gap, and appear to be primarily associated with temperature nonuniformity on the balloon surface. The predicted buoyancy for the single-walled balloon in the turbulent convection regime, predicted with a standard k − ǫ turbulence model, was within 10% of predictions based on the empirical correlations. There was also good agreement with recently conducted experiments in a cryogenic facility designed to simulate the Titan atmosphere.