Maximally stable lobed balloons

This paper is concerned with the optimization of the cutting pattern of n-fold symmetric super-pressure balloons made from identical lobes constrained by stiff meridional tendons. It is shown that the critical buckling pressure of such balloons is maximized if the unstressed surface area of the balloon is minimized under a stress constraint. This approach results in fully stressed balloon designs that in some cases have a smaller unstressed surface area than the corresponding axisymmetric surface that is in equilibrium with zero hoop stress. It is shown that, compared to current designs, the buckling pressures can be increased by up to 300% without increasing the maximum stress in the lobe.