Recovery System Preliminary Design, a Simplified Approach to Determining Staging, Timing and Altitude Requirements for Fast Inflating Parachutes.
Abstract
Determining a recovery system design that will take a specified act of initial conditions and will operate within a given set of constraints to provide a required final condition is a complex task. To perform this task, current design practices make extensive use of both person hours and computer time in an analytical 'cut and try' process. This report documents an analytical technique that takes a specified set of inputs (initial conditions, final conditions and operating constraints) and outputs a 'reasonable' recovery system preliminary design for fast inflating parachutes. The output includes the number of operating stages, the drag area of each operating stage, the reefing cutter times, and resulting altitude losses. The technique assumes a vertical trajectory, step function increases in parachute drag area, and that the recovery system is a point mass. The limitations of the analytical technique are discussed and recommendations are made with respect to reducing or removing the effects of these limitations. The analytical technique is applied to three different sets of conditions and constraints as example applications. Use of the analytical technique documented in this report will significantly reduce the assets required to arrive at a final recovery system design. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA077548
Entities
People
- Michael W. Higgins
Organizations
- Flight Dynamics Laboratory