Alternate Altitude Testing of Solid Cloth Parachute Systems
Abstract
The flight testing of solid cloth parachutes sometimes calls for unique test conditions such as very high altitudes for extremely low dynamic pressures, or heavy payloads, such as cargo, tested at low attitudes. Each of these conditions may require exceptional test equipment and/or facilities such as balloon-borne and rocket-assisted high-altitude vehicles or large cargo aircraft for low altitude heavy payloads. These requirements can add significantly to the overall test program cost and complexity. In order to reduce development test costs and complexity, a theoretical study has been conducted to determine the possibility of altering the test conditions in a manner which would permit the use of lower cost test assets and still obtain the same parachute opening shock forces and stress distributions. The results of this study show that if the system mass and test velocity are varied, as shown in the accompanying method for a constant Ballistic Mass Ratio (BMR) scale parameter, the opening shock force and stress distributions are constant for all altitudes. This report describes a technique which theoretically permits parachute systems to be tested under more convenient conditions of altitude, velocity, and system mass resulting in the same conditions of opening shock force and parachute stress distribution. Keywords: Solid cloth parachutes; Parachute technology; Scale effects; Altitude effects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA157068
Entities
People
- W. P. Ludtke
Organizations
- Naval Ordnance Laboratory