Materials for airship construction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Materials science is continually advancing and the aim of this paper is to consider briefly the current state of the art on flexible and rigid materials and methods of selection to assist in the optimisation of material usage in airship construction. Generally the selection of materials for airship construction involves a compromise between the ultimately desirable and the economically attainable. However recent advances in composite material technology have broadened the range and versatility of materials available so that selections can be made which offer the prospect of safe airships with useful payloads at economic costs. It is necessary to consider flexible and rigid materials separately as their function and selection criteria differ substantially.