A General Theory of Parachute Opening

Abstract

A simple mathematical model of the opening behavior of parachutes is presented. The model predicts the drag and velocity as functions of time and also gives an estimate of opening time. The model is very general and applicable to almost any parachute. The characteristics of a specific parachute enter the model by means of certain constants that have to be chosen. Values of these constants are found for flat, circular parachutes, partly by estimation and partly by numerical experimentation. The resulting model of the opening behavior of flat, circular canopies gives reasonable agreement with experiments for several parachutes of different sizes. Insofar as generality and flexibility are concerned, this model seems to be superior to present methods of predicting opening behavior of parachutes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1971
Accession Number
AD0719698

Entities

People

  • Edward W. Ross Jr.

Organizations

  • United States Army Soldier Systems Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Angular Momentum
  • Coefficients
  • Computer Programs
  • Deceleration
  • Diameters
  • Equations
  • Flow Fields
  • Mathematical Models
  • Parachutes
  • Resilience
  • Shape
  • Trajectories

Readers

  • Aerial Delivery - Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Fluid Dynamics.