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The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
An estimation method for parachute parameters
*Zhibin Li1, a, †, Wenquan Cai2, b, †, Yunchen Wu3, c, †
1
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin,
Heilongjiang Province 150001, China;
2
School of Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi 38655, United
States;
3
School of Mechanical Engineering, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042,
United States;
†These authors contributed equally.
Abstract. As a significant tool of transportation widely used in the logistics field, a well-
performed parachute is highly required for this demand, especially for the sake of higher cost
performance. The current study aims to investigate the internal relationship amidst various
parameters of the parachute, conducting error analysis and accordingly providing an optimal
experimental scheme. The objective of this experiment is to determine reference area and the
resistance coincident, which are primarily parameters to estimate the weight of the designed
parachute. Because the reference area is hard to determine using regular geometry method, a
new parameter area ratio is redefined as the ratio of the original area of parachute surface to the
reference area so that the reference area can be calculated by solving geometry problem. A
simplified assumption that the parachute can be seen as a quasi-rigid body was previously
made in order to approach the ideal parachute. Despite several limitations of the experiment,
the final results perfectly aligned with the pre-experiment expectation. By following the similar
procedures and after several trials, the ratio of the original area of parachute surface to the
reference area was determined to be 3.90 and the resistance coincident to fall in the range of
2.00-3.00.
1. Introduction
As an efficient and reliable recovery method, the parachute system has been widely used in manned
spacecraft, recoverable satellites, lunar exploration, Mars exploration, and other recoveries or
deceleration landing processes. Generally, the parachute is made of flexible materials in the shape of a
regular polygon [1], and it is connected to the objects hanging below by ropes with equal length fixed
to each corner. During the falling process, the air resistance [2] generated by the parachute surface
would act on the object through the rope thus object can fall at a constant velocity in air and guarantee
the safety of the landing process.
The weight of external load is determined by air density, falling velocity, reference area, and
resistance coefficient [3]. Among the design parameters of the parachute, the resistance parameter is
especially essential because it is affected by many factors like the surface area, gliding characteristics,
airflow pattern around, shape, the permeability of the fabric, descent velocity and length of ropes [4].
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution
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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
In the following experiment, the resistance coincident is measured using wind tunnel and airdrop. The
parameters of the parachute are changed each time until it satisfies the final demand.
According to previous literature, most studies optimize parachutes based on motion simulation and
mathematical models. For example, some researchers regard parachutes as rigid bluff bodies for 2-D
simulations [5, 6]; others make 3-D computations for parachute based on fluid dynamics [7, 8] and
structural dynamics [9, 10]. Considering the deployment process and overall changes in the parachute
structure, more accurate calculations are required. Some researchers use computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) methods to simulate and calculate the parachute movement [11, 12]. Similarly, some
researchers regarded the shape of parachutes as a rigid body to study by using CFD [13]. Additionally,
many design spacecraft parachutes use computer modeling to simulate the more complex fluid-
structure interaction between the canopy of parachute and the air [14].
In this paper, to reduce a large number of complex calculations, the aerodynamic problem, which is
based on CFD, is transformed into a geometric problem. The question is whether there is a certain
connection between the area of canopy and rope. However, some ideal conditions need to be fulfilled
for a simplified experimental way instead of using CFD [15] to find out the internal relationships
between the area of parachute and length of rope: 1) First, the canopy and ropes are quasi-rigid bodies
during the descent [16], and 2) Second, there is no influence of the transverse wind. This similar
approach to design the cruciform parachute has been used [17, 18]. By controlling the length of the
rope, the reference area of the parachute was redefined and measured. Furthermore, another parameter
was defined as the ratio between the original area and the reference area. When a parachute is fully
open, the ratio parameter would be the only function of the length of rope [19]. In the design process,
if the original area, falling velocity, and weight of loads were given, resistance coincident would be
the only function of the ratio parameter. If a database about the regular pattern of the ration parameter
by pre-experiment can be shown, then the resistance coincident and the length of rope would be easily
determined [20]. This study discovered the inner relationship between the parachute parameters and
the available range of resistance coincident. The next section provides a clear and precise description
of how our experiment was done.
2. Method
Two parachutes were made of polyester fabrics. The surface of one parachute is shaped as a regular
hexagon with a circumradius of 20 cm, and that of the other one is a regular octagon with a
circumradius of 25 cm, as shown in Figure 1. The rope is fixed at every angle of the parachute surface.
The ropes are marked at every 1 cm position. The total weight of the parachute can be expressed as
follow:
"
𝑊! = # 𝜌𝑣 # 𝑆$ 𝐶% (1)
where 𝑊! is weight, ρ is density of air, S0 is reference area, 𝑣 is falling velocity, and Cd is resistance
coefficient.
The reference area S0 is variable, so S0 is defined as the area of the regular polygon formed by the
connection between the rope and the parachute surface, shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. The red dotted polygon indicates the reference area S0.
2
The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
Then a parameter area ratio K can be defined as follow:
&
&!
=𝐾 (2)
where S is the original area of the parachute surface. When the parachute is fully open, for a certain
parachute, the relationship between S and S0 is a geometry problem. It is easy to determine that K is
the only function of L, which is the length of the rope. Then Cd can be calculated as follow:
#'
𝐶% = ()#"& 𝐾 (3)
A simple assumption was made that the parachute could be regarded as a quasi-rigid body when it
is entirely open. The acceleration section of falling is neglected, so we focus on the steady section with
uniform velocity. The experiment was planned to measure the reference area under the condition of
different rope lengths. Through this process, the relationship between K and L can be determined and
then the general scope of the resistance coefficient can also be determined by doing a falling
experiment.
The length of the rope is controlled by applying a crocodile clip on it. The parachute is fixed in
front of a fan with substantial power to ensure it will fully open. Every time the length of the rope is
changed, a test will be done, and the average side length of S0 will be measured. Therefore, 𝐾 can be
easily calculated by applying equation (3).
In the following experiment, the rope length 𝐿 is changed by adjusting crocodile clip and weight is
altered by changing the number of coins carried by the parachute. A video is taken nearby, and the
velocity of the parachute is measured as it falls steadily as Figure 2.
Figure 2. Drop height (on the left) and the load container attached by ropes (on the right).
From the experiments above, data of 𝑆, 𝐾, 𝑊! and v have been collected under different lengths of
rope. Then the range of 𝐶% can be calculated.
3. Results
The first experiment is about area measurement. The parachute is shaped as a regular hexagon with a
20 cm circumradius and the curve for function 𝐾 with parameter 𝐿 is shown below in Figure 3.
It can be seen from Figure 3 that as rope length grows from a small value, 𝐾 will decrease. The
decrease will slow down, and 𝐾 becomes a constant of 4 when rope length is longer than 35 cm. The
range of rope length is estimated by the parachute surface (from 20 − 10 cm to 40 + 10 cm). This
result matches up with the pre-experiment expectation.
3
The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
Figure 3. Relation between L and K.
When the rope length is zero, the reference area should be zero, and 𝐾 will approach infinity. That
is what would happen when the rope length falls on the left side of the experimental data. If the rope
length approaches infinity, the force acting on the parachute by the rope should be vertical to the
surface. From moment analysis, the parachute that is made of flexible material will only keep a very
fragile balance. It will quickly shrink (𝑆$ = 0, 𝐾 is infinity) and then fall freely with the cargo. So,
when rope length falls on the right side of the experimental data, there will be a turning point. When a
rope is at this length, the parachute's balance will be broken, and the reference area will reduce to zero
very quickly. According to our experiment data, there is always undulation. That is why the stability
of a parachute is also vital besides fundamental aerodynamic analysis.
Figure 4. Front and top view of the parachute in different states.
For comparison, the same experiment was repeated and data of another parachute, which is shaped
as a regular octagon with a circumradius of 25 cm, was also collected. The curve is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Relation between L and K of Octagon.
4
The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
Due to the relationship between K and L is regarded as a geometric similarity problem, L in the
previous set of data is magnified by 25÷20=1.25 times, and in this case, the parachute is shaped as a
regular hexagon with a circumradius of 25 cm. All three curves are drawn in the following Figure 6.
Figure 6. This figure shows the relationship between the different value of 𝑲 between 𝑳
From Figure 6, it is clear that when the circumradius is the same, for parachute with different
regular polygons, the changing trend of 𝐾 is quite similar. In our experiment, when the rope length and
circumradius are the same, 𝐾 for a regular octagon parachute is smaller than a regular hexagon.
Furthermore, when the shape is the same, if their radii are not entirely different, the relationship
between 𝐾 and 𝐿 can be easily inferred by multiplicating the known one.
The relationship between 𝐶% and falling velocity is shown in formula 3. Due to the limitation of our
experimental accuracy and the complexity of aerodynamic conditions, we can only provide the broad
range of 𝐶% . In our case, 𝐶% is about 1.5~3. This result is quite the same as another group working on
the parachute, which gets the result of 1.3~2.4 by an independent experiment.
From all the experiments and results above, the regulation of 𝐾 and the general range of 𝐶% are
identified. Imagine that when having a mission of making a parachute, the weight of cargo, the
maximum falling speed is given, the first step is to determine the shape and area of the parachute
surface. Then assume that 𝐶% ’s value is 2, from the equation 3 and the value of 𝐾 can be calculated.
Finally, from the relationship of 𝐾 with 𝐿 and the similarity theory, the length of rope is determined.
So, all the key parameters of the parachute are all known. Though the final project should be
determined after real experiment due to the variable of 𝐶% , only slight adjustments of relevant
parameters will be made.
4. Discussion
According to the results, the relationship between K and L is that they are geometrically similar, and
for different regular polygon umbrellas, the change trend of K is very similar. This shows that in the
case of determining the rope length and the shape of the parachute surface, a parachute can be quickly
designed by using the K-L curve. To obtain more accurate data, this experiment needs to be improved.
This article treats the parachute as a quasi-rigid body and has not tested it in a wind tunnel or a real
airdrop. However, the data and results obtained by simulating the parachute at low speed are in line
with expectations. The results indicate that the value of K is close to a constant in a wide range. By
analyzing and summarizing the results, the following improvements can be expected.
According to the original equation, the reference area can be used to measure the effective airflow
area and could be larger or smaller than the calculated area. However, by defining K, the variable area
was correspondently changed into a measurable area. This could be considered as a dominating error
resource. Given that, the primary improvement could be making a more accurate measurement of the
area when the parachute is open. Also, the difference in scale may generate subtle effects on the final
results. Aerodynamics results could be different between the small model and the 1:1 model. The
5
The 11th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ACMAE (2020) IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1786 (2021) 012012 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1786/1/012012
experiment should be well designed based on the similarity theory to deal with these problems,
including geometry, movement and dynamic similarity. Finally, when calculating Cd, the measurement
of v is quite rough, though it seems enough to get a reasonable conclusion. To be more precise, CFD is
the feasible way if it’s not tested in real wind tunnel. In the CFD model, a certain velocity should be
set and then the total vertical force acting on the parachute also measured so that both Wt and v can be
determined. By doing this, the error will be approximately minimized.
5. Conclusion
The present study's primary purpose is to find the relationship between reference area and the
coincident resistance of the parachute by using geometric analysis methods, comparative experiments,
and error analysis to create an optimized experimental scheme. In this paper, a parameter 𝐾 was
defined as the original ratio of the parachute surface and the reference area. In this way, the changing
trend of 𝐾 is quite similar for a parachute with different regular polygons when the circumradius is the
same. It shows that under conditions of a particular shape and rope length, the 𝐾 value of the
parachute is determined. A more accurate 𝐾 value can be calculated by accurate measurement
experiments or simulation software. As a result, a precise and quick way to design or improve a
parachute that meets specific demands can be achieved.
6. Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Professor Reza Alam and Dr. Youwei He.
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