Dynamic Analysis of the Tethering Cable Portion of a High Altitude Tethered Balloon System Under Fully Deployed Conditions

A computer study has been made of nonsteady aerodynamic loadings on a long, cylindrical cable of the continuous glass fiber-resin type used as a tether for a balloon at altitudes of approximately 100,000 feet. No important interactions between torsional, longitudinal, and lateral modes were found. Furthermore, the effects of lateral loadings from gusts or wortex sheddings were found to be unimportant. Computer programs are presented that enable computations to be made of cable motions resulting from localized gust loadings and from vortex shedding phenomena. (Author).