Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
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Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#2Key line: "Are the cost savings by using a 8.5% mixture of hydrogen worth all the trouble and effort it will take to convince your customers that the mixture is safe, as opposed to avoiding the safety questions altogether by using 100% helium?"
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#3Interesting! Living in Friedrichshafen (Germany) the birthplace of the Zeppelin, I'm wondering if this would be a valid option, because the Zeppelin NT that is used here in the summer uses only Helium AFAIK. The Zeppelin NT has an emergency drain that would essentially mean releasing 7.400 m³ worth of helium. I will definitely ask a family member that works at Zeppelin what he thinks of this research!
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#4Key line: "Are the cost savings by using a 8.5% mixture of hydrogen worth all the trouble and effort it will take to convince your customers that the mixture is safe, as opposed to avoiding the safety questions altogether by using 100% helium?"
I guess that might depend on the cost of Helium.
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#5Hydrogen is non-explosive. If you prevent oxygen from mixing in, then it's also not going to rapidly deflagrate.
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#6Real economies are made by saving even 8.5% of the cost of an airship's gas. That's real money. Plus, that hydrogen won't escape the vessel over time, so that's a percentage you don't have to keep refilling.
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#7Hydrogen is non-explosive. If you prevent oxygen from mixing in, then it's also not going to rapidly deflagrate.
Sounds great ... on Mars.
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#8Real economies are made by saving even 8.5% of the cost of an airship's gas. That's real money. Plus, that hydrogen won't escape the vessel over time, so that's a percentage you don't have to keep refilling.
Its about your customer's perceptions of risk. Key line: "Are the cost savings by using a 8.5% mixture of hydrogen worth all the trouble and effort it will take to convince your customers that the mixture is safe, as opposed to avoiding the safety questions altogether by using 100% helium?"
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#9Key line: "Are the cost savings by using a 8.5% mixture of hydrogen worth all the trouble and effort it will take to convince your customers that the mixture is safe, as opposed to avoiding the safety questions altogether by using 100% helium?"
I understand the author poses this as a rhetorical question, but obviously the answer is more complicated than “just use 100% helium”. It’s much more likely that someone has already done the cost and risk analysis and determined that 8.5% hydrogen is worth the trouble.
Sorry it’s not the answer [the author] is looking for.
Re: Can helium be mixed with hydrogen to form a non-explosive mix? (2003)
#10It got me wondering if the increase lift capacity would be added factor, but quick calculation shows that it would only gain an extra ~1% of lift. So it would really just be a cost question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_gas