Patent ID: 12252230

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. The foregoing may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein.

All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. References to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context. Thus, the term “or” should generally be understood to mean “and/or,” and the term “and” should generally be understood to mean “and/or.”

Recitation of ranges of values herein are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words “about,” “approximately,” or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, are to be construed as including any deviation as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Ranges of values and/or numeric values are provided herein as examples only, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the described embodiments. The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (“e.g.,” “such as,” or the like) is intended merely to better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of those embodiments. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosed embodiments.

In the description that follows, deployment of inflatable structures is generally described. As used herein, the term “inflatable structure” shall be understood to include a balloon connected in fluid communication to a chamber of a reactor or a balloon by itself (e.g., after the reactor has been jettisoned in instances in which the balloon is intended to be released from the reactor). For example, the various different systems described herein facilitate rapid inflation of the balloon such that, in some instances, deployment of an inflatable structure may include releasing a system (e.g., midair or in water) while the balloon is being filled with lifting gas being generated in the chamber of the reactor such that the inflatable structure may at least initially include the balloon connected in fluid communication to the chamber of the reactor. In some implementations, the reactor may be jettisoned from the balloon once the balloon after the balloon has been filled with lifting gas and, in such use cases, the inflatable structure shall be understood to include only the balloon following disconnection of the balloon from the reactor.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified or made clear from the context, the term “balloon” shall be understood to include any manner and form of object that can receive lifting gas to have at least some degree of buoyancy in ambient air, in water, or in any other medium, whether in an indoor or an outdoor environment. In use, such balloons may be used to make observations (e.g., about weather in the atmosphere, conditions below or around the balloon), carry passengers and/or cargo, broadcast and/or receive signals beyond the balloon, collect data, lift structures, etc. Accordingly, as used herein, balloons may include any one or more of various different manned or unmanned craft, dirigible or non-dirigible craft, independently propelled or floating craft, rigid or nonrigid craft, tethered or untethered craft, or combinations thereof.

As used herein, the term “gas” or variants thereof (e.g., lifting gas) shall be understood to include a single component or multiple components (mixed), unless otherwise specified or made clear from the context. Further, unless a contrary intent is indicated, the use of the term gas shall be generally understood to include any multi-phase mixture that includes one or more gas phase components and exhibits characteristics of a compressible fluid, with a relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature that is accurately characterized by the ideal gas law to within about ±5 percent at room temperature at sea level. Thus, for example, a gas may include at least one gas phase component, as well as some amount of one or more vapor components (e.g., water vapor).

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1D, a system100for deployment of an inflatable structure may include a balloon102, a valve assembly104, and a reactor106. The valve assembly104may be disposed in fluid communication between the chamber110and the envelope108(e.g., the valve assembly104may be coupled to one or both of the balloon102or the reactor106) and, in some instances, the valve assembly104may include a control valve112selectively actuatable to control fluid communication between the chamber110and the envelope108. The balloon102may define an envelope108having a first stiffness, and the reactor106may define a chamber110having a second stiffness greater than the first stiffness. The reactor106may be foldable (e.g., rolling or in a pattern) onto itself along the chamber110and elastically deformable to unfold in response to an increase in pressure in the chamber110. With greater stiffness along the chamber110of the reactor106than along the envelope108of the balloon102, the stiffness of the chamber110of the reactor106may overcome stiffness of the envelope108of the balloon102, forcing lifting gas from the chamber110into the envelope108. As compared to a configuration in which stiffness is the same throughout the system, the stiffness differential between the chamber110of the reactor106and the envelope108of the balloon102results in faster inflation of the balloon102. Further, while the chamber110of the reactor106is relatively stiffer than the envelope108of the balloon102, the reactor106is nevertheless initially flexible (e.g., compliant) to facilitate storage, transport to an end-use location, and/or deployment at an end-use location.

In use, as also described in greater detail below, the chamber110of the reactor106may contain a fuel114reactable with water to produce a lifting gas. The fuel114may include activated aluminum, such as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 10,745,789, issued to Jonathan Thurston Slocum on Aug. 18, 2020, and entitled “Activated Aluminum Fuel,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. The reactor106may be folded along the chamber110at the time of initial use of the system100, such as may be useful for deployment of a balloon from space-constrained surroundings (e.g., an aircraft and/or an underwater vehicle). Water115may be introduced to the fuel114in the chamber110of the reactor106. As the fuel114and the water115react in the chamber110to produce a hydrogen-containing gas116, pressure in the chamber110may increase. As the pressure in the chamber110increases, the chamber110may unfold, from an initial folded configuration, to accommodate the hydrogen-containing gas116. The control valve112may be actuated to open to allow the hydrogen-containing gas116in the pressurized environment in the chamber110to flow into the envelope108to inflate the balloon102. With fluid communication between the chamber110and the envelope108established via the control valve112, the stiffness difference between the chamber110and the envelope108may facilitate increasing the speed of this flow such that the balloon102may be inflated rapidly. Thus, the combination of relative stiffness and foldability of the reactor106is a robust solution for balancing competing considerations associated with rapidly filling the balloon102with a lifting gas while requiring only an efficient amount of material and equipment. The effectiveness of this combination of features of the system100shall be described in greater detail below in the context of the advantages provided by the system100with respect to certain exemplary use cases, such as mid-air deployment and/or underwater deployment.

In some implementations, the speed at which the hydrogen-containing gas116is produced in the chamber110may be a primary factor in determining the size of the chamber110. The speed of production of the hydrogen-containing gas116is a function of the ratio of the water115to the fuel114initially in the chamber110. A minimum mass ratio of the water115to the fuel114has been found to be about 5:1 to fully react the fuel114and leave an essentially dry powder as a waste by-product. However, at a 5:1 mass ratio, the pressure rise in the chamber110may be incompatible with forming the reactor106to be flexible enough to be foldable onto itself along the chamber110. While higher mass ratios result in slower reaction times and lower pressures, slower times may not be acceptable for some implementations and the additional water required to achieve such ratios may be impractical for certain applications, such as those requiring mobility. In practice, a water-to-fuel mass ratio of 8:1 has been found to be a practical compromise—making efficient use of water to produce the hydrogen-containing gas116rapidly while also having a pressure profile that is sustainable by various different types of flexible materials. That is, at a water-to-fuel mass ratio of 8:1, the chamber110of the reactor106may unfold to the volume needed for the reaction to occur while accommodating pressure associated with steam and by-product formation, thus eliminating the need to carry a large, fixed-volume container to the site of use.

For a reaction that produces the hydrogen-containing gas116in five minutes, the chamber110of the reactor106may have a fully inflated volume of 0.2 cubic meters, and the fully inflated volume of the envelope108of the balloon102may be 10 cubic meters (a volumetric ratio of 50:1). Reactions faster than five minutes require a lower volumetric ratio (e.g., 20:1). Higher volumetric ratios (e.g., 500:1) may be appropriate in implementations in which longer reaction times are acceptable. Further, or instead, in implementations in which the reactor106is in water or another medium that facilitates condensation of steam, high volumetric ratios may also be acceptable.

In general, the balloon102may include at least a first substrate120along the envelope108, and the reactor106may include at least a second substrate122along the chamber110. In certain instances, the first substrate120and the second substrate122may be the same material, such as may be useful for manufacturability of the system100(e.g., facilitating formation of one or more monolithic structures described herein). In other instances, the first substrate120and the second substrate122may include different materials, such as materials with different elasticity to facilitate achieving the stiffness differential between the chamber110and the envelope108. In particular, one or both of the first substrate120or the second substrate122may include at least one compliant polymer, such as biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (commercially known as Mylar®, available from Dupont Tejjin Films USA of Chester, Virginia) or latex.

The respective environments within the envelope108and the chamber110may additionally, or alternatively, inform features of the first substrate120and the second substrate122, respectively. For example, the first substrate120may be hydrophobic along the envelope108to facilitate withstanding exposure to moisture that may come into contact with the first substrate120as steam in the hydrogen-containing gas116condenses in the envelope108condenses. Further, or instead, the second substrate122of the reactor106may have a melt temperature above 100° C. along the chamber110to reduce the likelihood that the second substrate122will degrade in the presence of the heat generated by reaction of the water115and the fuel114in the chamber110. In any one or more implementations in which the system100may be deployed at altitude, the second substrate122may include one or more materials (e.g., polymers) with a melt temperature less than 100° C. At high altitudes, water boils at lower temperatures. For example, at 5000 ft. water boils at 95° C. Since reaction in the chamber is not significantly pressurized, the peak temperature of the reaction is limited at high elevations, thus facilitating use of certain materials having a melt temperature below 100° C., but at a temperature greater than the reaction peak temperature at a predetermined altitude of deployment of the system100.

In certain implementations, the stiffness differential between the chamber110and the envelope108may be at least partially attributable to differences in one or more material and/or structural properties of the first substrate120relative to those of the second substrate122. As an example, the first substrate120may have a first average thickness along the envelope108, and the second substrate122may have a second average thickness along the chamber110. The second average thickness of the second substrate122may be greater than the first average thickness of the first substrate120, with this relative difference in average thickness contributing to the relative difference in stiffness between the chamber110and the envelope108. As a specific example, the second average thickness of the second substrate122of the chamber110may be twice that of the first average thickness of the first substrate120of the envelope108to facilitate flowing hydrogen-containing gas from the chamber110into the envelope108. While such difference in thickness may be sufficient for achieving a stiffness difference between the chamber110and the envelope108in some instances, it shall be appreciated that foldability of the reactor106along the chamber110may be a practical upper limit to the second average thickness along the chamber110while durability may be a practical lower limit to the first average thickness along the envelope108.

In certain implementations, the valve assembly104may further include a connector125and a controller126. The controller126may include a processing unit128and non-transitory computer-readable storage media130having stored thereon instructions for causing the processing unit128to carry out one or more aspects of any one of the various different techniques of operating the valve assembly104. The connector125may include a first portion131, a second portion132, and an actuator134. The first portion131of the connector125may be mechanically coupled to the balloon102, and the second portion132of the connector125may further, or instead, be mechanically coupled to the reactor106. The actuator134may be actuatable (e.g., electrically actuatable) to release the first portion131and the second portion132of the connector125from one another. For example, the controller126may be in electrical communication with the actuator134, and the non-transitory computer-readable storage media130may have stored thereon instructions for causing the processing unit128to send a first actuation signal to the actuator134to release the first portion131and the second portion132of the connector125from one another, thus jettisoning the reactor106and the reaction by-products therein. As an example, the connector125may be a quick-dis connect valve, and the actuator may be solenoid actuatable by the controller126to release the quick-disconnect valve. With the weight of the reactor106and the reaction by-products removed, the balloon102filled with hydrogen-containing gas may float away from the reactor106. While the quick-disconnect valve may be actuatable using a solenoid, it shall be appreciated that other types of actuation may be additionally or alternatively possible. For example, the quick-disconnect valve may include a bistable structure with a sharp edge triggered by a signal from the controller126to cause the sharp edge to pierce or cut through a thin rubber or wax lined paper tube connecting the balloon102to the reactor106.

In certain implementations, the non-transitory computer-readable storage media130may additionally, or alternatively, have stored thereon instructions for causing the processing unit128to send a second actuation signal to the control valve112to open or close the control valve112. For example, the second actuation signal may open the control valve112after the hydrogen-containing gas in the chamber110of the reactor106has cooled such that steam has condensed to water in the reactor. Further, or instead, the second actuation signal may close the control valve112to restrict fluid communication between the chamber110of the reactor106and the envelope108of the balloon102, such as may be useful for maintaining the hydrogen-containing gas116within the envelope108of the balloon102such that the hydrogen-containing gas116may continue to provide lifting force to the balloon102after the reactor106has been jettisoned. While the reactor106may be jettisoned from the balloon102in some instances, it shall be appreciated that removal of the dead-weight associated with the by-products may be additionally or alternatively achieved according to one or more other techniques. For example, in some instances, the reactor106may be intentionally ruptured such that byproducts in the chamber110may gradually spill out of the chamber110, such as may be useful for spreading the byproducts over a large area.

While the control valve112may be electrically actuated by the controller in some implementations, it shall be appreciated that other types of actuation of the control valve112are additionally, or alternatively, possible. For example, the control valve112may be a check valve self-actuatable in response to a pressure difference between the chamber110of the reactor106and the envelope108of the balloon. As a specific example, the control valve112may be a duck-bill valve, which is self-sealing once the hydrogen-containing gas116is moved from the chamber110to the envelope108.

In some implementations, the system100may include at least one sensor136in electrical communication with the controller126. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media130may have stored thereon instructions for causing the processing unit128to receive one or more feedback signals from the at least one sensor136and the first actuation signal from the controller126to the actuator134to release the connector125may be based on the one or more feedback signals. The one or more feedback signals may be indicative, for example, one or more parameters associated with at least one of the balloon102or the reactor106. By way of example and not limitation, the one or more parameters may include pressure in the chamber of the reactor, pressure in the envelope of the balloon, pressure in an environment outside of the balloon, temperature in the chamber of the reactor, altitude of the balloon, or any combination thereof.

The valve assembly104may additionally, or alternatively, include a fill valve138in fluid communication between the chamber110and an environment outside of the chamber110, which may be air or a water source. In general, the water115may be introduced into the chamber110via the fill valve138. For example, the fuel114may be pre-packed in the chamber110of the reactor106in a form factor in which the reactor106may be foldable along the chamber110with the fuel114therein, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,111,141, issued to Jonathan T. Slocum and Alexander H. Slocum, on Sep. 7, 2021, and entitled “STORING ACTIVATED ALUMINUM,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

For example, the fuel114may be stored in the reactor106in an inert environment (e.g., a vacuum and/or an inert gas) to reduce the likelihood that aluminum in the fuel114may become inadvertently oxidized or otherwise contaminated prior to use of the system100in the field. The system100may be initially in a compact form factor in which at least the reactor106may be folded onto itself. The water115may be introduced into the chamber110via the fill valve138and, as the hydrogen-containing gas116forms in the chamber110, the reactor106may elastically deform to unfold the chamber in response to increasing pressure in the chamber110. Thus, the reaction itself may change the form factor of the chamber110from one that is useful for efficient transport and/or storage to one that accommodates rapid formation of large quantities of hydrogen-containing gas. In some instances, the gradual unfolding of the chamber110through elastic deformation of the reactor106may provide a physical restriction on the rate of introduction of the water115to the fuel114such that the fuel114may be reacted more slowly, as compared to a time for reaction in an unfolded chamber. As shown inFIG.1C, as the hydrogen-containing gas116continues to be formed in the chamber110, the pressure in the chamber110may cause the chamber110to elastically expand. Such elastic expansion of the chamber110may be useful, for example, for reducing the likelihood that plumbing of the valve assembly104may be subjected to high pressures that may lead to degraded performance of the valve assembly104.

Additionally, or alternatively, the valve assembly104may include a float valve140disposed along the envelope108. As water condenses out of the hydrogen-containing gas116in the envelope, a volume of water may collect along a bottom portion of the envelope108under the force of gravity. At a predetermined depth, the collected volume of water may actuate the float valve140(e.g., by pushing the float valve140to an open position) such that at least a portion of the volume of water may be released from the envelope108. As an example, the float valve140may be any one or more of the various different float valves described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2021/0237843, by Alexander H. Slocum and Jonathan T. Slocum, published on Aug. 5, 2021, entitled “CONTROLLING LIFTING GAS IN INFLATABLE STRUCTURES,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Having described various aspects of the system100, attention is now directed to certain exemplary end-use cases useful for highlighting various different aspects of the system100useful for rapid generation of the hydrogen-containing gas116.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIGS.2A-2C, the system100may be deployed below a water surface S of a body of water W. Water from the body of water W may be introduced into the chamber110to react with the fuel114in the chamber110according to any one or more of the various different techniques described herein. The hydrogen-containing gas116formed in the chamber110while the system100is below the water surface S of the water W may provide buoyancy force to the system100such that the system100may rise toward the water surface S. In some instances, the buoyancy force provided to the system100may deliver the system to the water surface S. Further, or instead, the buoyancy force provided to the system100may allow at least a portion of the system100to continue rising into the air, with the overall result being that the balloon102may be launched into the air from a position under the water surface S. While the hydrogen-containing gas116may provide buoyancy for all components of the system100over the entire duration of the excursion, it shall be appreciated that the reactor106may be decoupled from the balloon102at any point along the excursion as may be useful for achieving efficient use of the hydrogen-containing gas116. That is, once all of the fuel114has been reacted in the chamber110to form the hydrogen-containing gas116, and the hydrogen-containing gas116has fully inflated the envelope108of the balloon102, the reactor106may be decoupled from the balloon102(e.g., at or near the water surface S such that the reactor may sink in the body of water W). This may facilitate extending travel of the balloon102without the weight of the reactor106.

In certain implementations, at least a portion of the system100(e.g., the balloon102) may carry a payload142. For example, the payload142may include computers, data collection devices, and data transfer systems in electrical or radio communication with another party (e.g., a manned or unmanned underwater vehicle, a surface ship, a ground base, an aircraft). Thus, continuing with this example, the system100may be deployed under the water surface S to deliver the payload as part of a data storage, lofting, and transmission operation.

In certain implementations, referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIGS.2A-2C, the system100may be deployed from an underwater vehicle144. For the sake of clear and efficient description, the underwater vehicle144is shown and described as a submarine. However, unless otherwise specified or made clear from the context, it shall be understood that the underwater vehicle144may be any one or more of various different types of manned or unmanned underwater vehicles.

The underwater vehicle144may define an enclosure145for initiating a hydrogen producing reaction in the system100and/or launching the system100. As an example, the enclosure145may be nominally kept flooded and when it is time to deploy the system100, a door146along the enclosure145may be opened to eject the system100into the body of water W. In some instances, the reaction of the fuel114in the chamber110may be started in the enclosure145, just prior to ejection of the system100. As shown inFIG.2B, the underwater vehicle144may carry multiple instances of the system100, such as may be useful for prolonged underwater excursions. Thus, after a first instance of the system100is ejected from the enclosure145, another instance of the system100may be moved into the enclosure145for subsequent deployment (e.g., when the underwater vehicle144has moved to a different location, has gathered additional information, etc.).

In certain implementations, at least the balloon102of the system100may remain coupled to the underwater vehicle144such that hydrogen containing gas in the balloon102may provide buoyancy to the underwater vehicle144. The amount of buoyancy may vary according to the particular mission and, thus, may be used for such things as position stabilization at a specific depth and/or surfacing.

In certain implementations, the reactants in the chamber110of the reactor106may include any one or more of various different additives useful for promoting a hydrogen-producing reaction between water from the body of water W and the fuel114. Examples of additives useful for promoting hydrogen production from reaction of the fuel114in the presence of salt-water are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/351,079, filed on Jun. 17, 2021, and entitled “CONTROLLING REACTABILITY OF WATER-REACTIVE ALUMINUM,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

With the system100submerged in the body of water W, thermal communication between the body of water W and the chamber110may help to cool and condense steam in the chamber110. Based on one or more parameters (e.g., temperature and pressure) sensed in the chamber110, the control valve112may be actuated to open so mostly hydrogen gas flows into and expands the envelope108of the balloon40. This is enabled by the pressure difference initially and later by the chamber110being stiffer than the envelope108. Once the balloon102has reached a desired state of inflation, such as can be determined by a pressure sensor, and or calibration, the control valve112may be closed, the connector125may be activated to release the reactor106from the balloon102such that the balloon102may float from the water surface S upwards into the atmosphere with the payload142or for example stored data and communications equipment to transmit the data.

Having described certain use cases associated with deploying the system100underwater, attention is now directed to deploying the system100from an aircraft. For the sake of clear and efficient explanation, the aircraft is described as being a helicopter. However, unless otherwise indicated or made clear from the context, it shall be understood that the aircraft may additionally or alternatively include fixed wing aircraft, aerostats, etc.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIG.3, the system100may be carried to altitude by an aircraft148. For example, in instances in which the aircraft148is a helicopter, the system100may be inflated underneath the helicopter or raised up by the helicopter and then disconnected once hydrogen-containing gas begins to be formed by the system100. As a specific example, the reaction of the fuel114in the system100may proceed while the system100is hung from the aircraft148. At least a portion of the system100may be decoupled from the aircraft148once the system100has become buoyant in the air or the reaction has nearly completed and the balloon102is ready to jettison the reactor106. A cinch149(e.g., a retractable net) may be placed around a circumference of the chamber110, so that once the reaction in the chamber110is complete, the cinch149can retract and squeeze the hydrogen-containing gas116from the chamber110of the reactor106. As an example, the cinch149may be driven by a torsional spring, such as a large constant torsion spring. A trigger may be actuated to reel the torsional spring in a manner analogous to retraction of a measuring tape into a tape measure.

Having described deployment of the system100below an aircraft, attention is now directed to deployment of the system100in mid-air, such as in use cases in which the system100is ejected from an aircraft.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIGS.4A-4C, the system100may further include a parachute150coupled to one or more of the reactor106or the valve assembly104. Further, or instead, one or more cords152of the parachute150may be coupled about the reactor106such that tension in the one or more cords152may squeeze the hydrogen-containing gas116from the chamber110. In certain implementations, the reaction of the fuel114in the chamber110may be started just before the system100is ejected from an aircraft. That is, water may be added to the system100while the system100is still onboard the aircraft. Starting the prior to ejection may be useful for allowing the balloon102to be filled with the hydrogen-containing gas116before the system100reaches the ground.

The parachute150may be, for example, a split parachute (two or three chutes). When it is time for the balloon102to be released, the balloon102may float up through the gap between parachutes, or a single chute's cords. The parachute150may be deployed before the reaction container becomes too big and buffeted by high falling velocities. As the system100is falling, the rapid airflow past it may create good cooling of the chamber110to facilitate condensing steam. Further, or instead, airflow pushing on the bottom of the chamber110of the reactor106may facilitate pushing the hydrogen-containing gas116from the chamber110into the envelope108of the balloon102.

Having described implementations of the system100in which differences in stiffness between the chamber110and the envelope108are attributable to material and/or physical properties of respective substrates of material, attention is now directed to various different implementations in which the difference in stiffness between the chamber110and the envelope108is at least partially attributable to the addition of additional features.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIG.5, the system100may further, or instead, include a reinforcement154disposed along at least a portion of the second substrate122along the chamber110. The reinforcement154may include at least one reinforcement material that is less elastic than the second substrate. As an example, the reinforcement154may extend at least circumferentially about the chamber110. Examples of the reinforcement154include a basket, an annulus, or a combination thereof. Wicker may be a particularly useful material for the reinforcement, given that it is strong, lightweight, and has low elasticity. Further, or instead, wicker may be useful as an ignitable material in instances in which it may be desirable to ignite the reactor106just before or just after decoupling the reactor106from the balloon102. More generally, at standard temperature and pressure, the at least one reinforcement material may have a lower ignition temperature than the second substrate122.

In implementations in which the reinforcement154extends circumferentially about the chamber110, one or more of the cords152of the parachute may be coupled to the reinforcement154. Further, or instead, the reinforcement154may be tightened about the chamber110via tension applied to the reinforcement154by the cords152in tension as the parachute150produces drag.

Referring now toFIG.6, a system600may be analogous to the system100, unless otherwise specified or made clear from the context. The system600may include a reinforcement655may include a ring656, a flexible top658, and a flexible bottom660. The ring156may be inflatable to form an effectively rigid hoop (a torus), to which the flexible top158and the flexible bottom659may be attached. The flexible top658and the flexible bottom660may define a chamber therebetween such that any one or more of various different techniques described herein for producing hydrogen-containing gas may be carried out using the system600, unless otherwise specified or made clear from the context. Alternatively, a spherical flexible structure may have at its equator attached an inflatable torus to give some circumferential rigidity. Around the torus' circumference are attached parachute cords to an above deployed parachute. At the top of the structure is a valve that connects it to a balloon to be filled with hydrogen gas. Water and fuel will hang down in the lower structure as it falls and as the reaction progresses and the structure inflates the water, aluminum, and reaction byproducts will settle in the bottom. When the reaction is complete and the steam has condensed, the valve can be opened and the hydrogen will be forced into the balloon as air pressure pushes the lower structure with its gas contents up.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIG.7, in some implementations, the reinforcement154may include a reinforced portion of the reactor106along the balloon102. For example, the reinforcement154may be along an end portion of the chamber110opposite the valve assembly104, where the chamber110is lowest when the system100is deployed. In instances in which the amount of reinforcement varies about the chamber110, the reinforcement material may be disposed along the second substrate122with a maximum volumetric concentration of the reinforcement material along an end portion of the chamber110opposite the valve assembly104. Further, or instead, the reinforcement154may include a plurality of fibers of the at least one reinforcement material, and the plurality of fibers may be at least partially embedded along at least a section of the second substrate122.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIG.8, the system100may be deployed on the ground. For example, a first weight160(e.g. a weighted bag such as those used by ballooners to weigh down balloons before flight) may be positioned on the reactor206to increase the effective stiffness of the reactor206relative to stiffness of the balloon102. A second weight164, such as a second bag, may be lighter than the first weight160, such that gas will still flow from the reactor106to the balloon102.

Referring now toFIGS.1A-1DandFIG.9, the system100may be deployed from a hole H dug in the ground such that the ground surrounding the reactor106provides stiffness useful for moving the hydrogen-containing gas into the balloon102.

Referring now toFIGS.10A-10C, a system1000may include a balloon1002and a reactor1006. For the sake of clear and efficient description, elements of the system1000should be understood to be analogous to or interchangeable with elements of the system100corresponding to 100-series element numbers (e.g., inFIGS.1A-1D) described herein, unless otherwise explicitly made clear from the context and, therefore, are not described separately from counterpart 100-series element numbers, except to note differences and/or to emphasize certain features. Thus, for example, the balloon1002of the system1000shall be understood to be identical the balloon102(FIGS.1A-1D), except to any extent indicated.

In general, the balloon1002and the reactor1006may be a monolith at least along a connector1125of a valve assembly1004. The connector1125may be operable to split the monolith along the connector1125to release a first portion1131of the connector1125from a second portion1132of the connector1125. For example, an actuator1134of the valve assembly1004may be a wire operable to split the monolith through heat directed to the monolith of the connector1125via the actuator1134. Further, or instead, the actuator1134may be a spring-loaded blade movable to split the monolith of the connector1125through movement of the spring-loaded blade through the monolith.

In certain instances, the system1000may include a necked region1172between the balloon1002and the reactor1006. The system1000may, for example, include a clamp1170disposed along the necked region1172. A controller1126may be in electrical communication with the clamp1170. Non-transitory computer-readable media1130of the controller1126may have stored thereon instructions for causing a processing unit1128to send an actuation signal to the clamp1170to restrict fluid communication between a chamber1110of the reactor1006and an envelope1008of the balloon1002.

As shown inFIG.10A, water may be introduced to fuel1114in the reactor1006from a water source1180coupled in fluid communication with the chamber1110of the reactor1006.

As shown inFIG.10B, as the valve assembly1004is actuated to allow hydrogen-containing gas into the balloon1002, the balloon1002may inflate to a large size.

As shown inFIG.10C, as steam in the balloon1002condenses, the size of the balloon1002in the inflated state may decrease.

Referring now toFIG.10D, in some implementations, the system1000may be coupled to a compressor1182(e.g., a pump). Once hydrogen-containing gas in the reactor1106cools, a portion of the hydrogen-containing gas in the reactor1106may be directed to the balloon1002and/or to the compressor1182in fluid communication with the reactor1106. The compressor1182may compress the hydrogen-containing gas into a high-pressure container1184for later use.

The above systems, devices, methods, processes, and the like may be realized in hardware, software, or any combination of these suitable for the control, data acquisition, and data processing described herein. This includes realization in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable devices or processing circuitry, along with internal and/or external memory. This may also, or instead, include one or more application specific integrated circuits, programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic components, or any other device or devices that may be configured to process electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that a realization of the processes or devices described above may include computer-executable code created using a structured programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardware description languages, and database programming languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or combinations of different hardware and software. At the same time, processing may be distributed across devices such as the various systems described above, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalone device. All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Embodiments disclosed herein may include computer program products comprising computer-executable code or computer-usable code that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs any and/or all of the steps of the control systems described above. The code may be stored in a non-transitory fashion in a computer memory, which may be a memory from which the program executes (such as random access memory associated with a processor), or a storage device such as a disk drive, flash memory or any other optical, electromagnetic, magnetic, infrared or other device or combination of devices. In another aspect, any of the control systems described above may be embodied in any suitable transmission or propagation medium carrying computer-executable code and/or any inputs or outputs from same.

The method steps of the implementations described herein are intended to include any suitable method of causing such method steps to be performed, consistent with the patentability of the following claims, unless a different meaning is expressly provided or otherwise clear from the context. So, for example performing the step of X includes any suitable method for causing another party such as a remote user, a remote processing resource (e.g., a server or cloud computer) or a machine to perform the step of X. Similarly, performing steps X, Y and Z may include any method of directing or controlling any combination of such other individuals or resources to perform steps X, Y and Z to obtain the benefit of such steps. Thus, method steps of the implementations described herein are intended to include any suitable method of causing one or more other parties or entities to perform the steps, consistent with the patentability of the following claims, unless a different meaning is expressly provided or otherwise clear from the context. Such parties or entities need not be under the direction or control of any other party or entity, and need not be located within a particular jurisdiction.

It will be appreciated that the methods and systems described above are set forth by way of example and not of limitation. Numerous variations, additions, omissions, and other modifications will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the order or presentation of method steps in the description and drawings above is not intended to require this order of performing the recited steps unless a particular order is expressly required or otherwise clear from the context. Thus, while particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the disclosure.