Modeling of Deployable Tent Systems

Background

The Air Force (AF) has assemble-in-place structures and systems for remote locations.  These consist initially of tent systems in support of the expeditionary locations.  The Air Force’s plan to integrate energy use, enhance energy efficiency, and guide energy management within the AF is designed to reduce fuel demands, increase supplies of non-petroleum-based fuels, and change the culture of energy utilization. 

Project Details

The AF civil engineering center has been demonstrating a number of tent structures over the past 5-6 years in different climates and areas of operation, including Holloman AFB, Tyndall AFB, Kuwait, Guam, and Ellsworth AFB.  Extensive amounts of “high resolution” data have been collected through these fully sensored tent systems at each of the sites.  The variables examined over these tests include tent material type, tent liner type, support structure, fly or no fly, treated fly, fly with flexible PV panels, ECU output split between two structures, tent orientation, site location (hot, dry, humid, temperate, or cold, wind, solar exposure), entrance vestibule, fired-heaters, and others.  An ongoing project is working to adapt a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) model for ridged structures, i.e. buildings, to the flexible, fabric tent systems.  

This project will begin using the commercial software package, COMSOL, to create a model of one of the AF insulated tent structures.  Results can be compared to the NREL model and the actual data from the Air Force testing.

Skills Development

• Applying energy balances and heat transfer fundamentals to fabric structures
• FEM modeling
• COMSOL
• Correlating physical data to equations that might be required within COMSOL

Research Duties

• Become familiar with the various tent systems that the AF uses, or proposes to use
• Become familiar with the COMSOL program
• Build a simple COMSOL model in 1D
• Extend the COMSOL model to a simplified 3D tent
• Compile simulated results and compare with actual data
• Summarize findings in technical reports
• Identify trends in data
• Provide insight on how to extend the model to include actual shapes, other add-ins in the tent, and weather data.

Impact of Research

Having a working model that effectively reproduces how tents behave in various environments and one that can be adapted by the AF civil engineering center will help safe time and money.  Making changes to the model and looking if there are significant energy savings will help immensely, because the AF will not have to build a tent, then test it for 4 months, before they know if the changes significantly impact energy savings or losses.  COMSOL is a ubiquitous modeling tool, which is readily available and understood by most engineers.

Research Team

You will be working with both Dr. Dixon and Krishna Keesari

Dr. Dixon has expertise in supercritical fluid processing, water treatment, and process modeling. He will serve as the lead on the project.

Krishna Reddy Keesari is working on the NREL model adaptation and he will provide  insight and support for the project.

For more details on this project, contact the lead investigator:

david.dixon@sdsmt.edu