Design and Fabrication of a Small Lightweight Expendable Type Gas Cylinder for Use with Helium

摘要

The program was undertaken to design and fabricate a pilot run quantity of a small lightweight expendable type cylinder and valve assembly charged with helium to be used by combat weather teams for inflating small meteorological balloons. The cylinders were designed with an internal volume of fifteen cubic inches to contain 1.6 to 1.8 free cubic feet of helium at a filling pressure of 3600 psig and a temperature of 70F. The cylinder assembly was designed to be sealed after filling, with gas discharge accomplished manually by means of a pierced disc technique, using a non-integral puncturing stem device. The assembly was designed to permit seal-off and flow control after disc puncture by manipulation of the stem.