Numerical Simulation on Inflation Process of Cruciform Drag Parachute

Abstract

In order to study the opening characteristics of the cruciform drag parachute, the ALE (Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler) fluid-solid coupling method is used to numerically simulate the inflation process of the cross drag parachute. The influence of the calculation domain size and grid densities on the calculation results is discussed, and on this basis, the shape changes of the canopy and the dynamic loading of the parachute are analyzed in detail. The results show that the simulation results of the maximum dynamic load at different opening speeds are consistent with the experiment, the error is within 5%. This can verify the feasibility and accuracy of the simulation method. When the canopy is inflated, the arms are firstly deployed, and then the airflow gathers on the top of the canopy. After being fully extended, it begins to gradually expand outwards until the canopy is completely full. The dynamic load of the drag parachute is significantly affected by the change in the shape of the canopy, and when the canopy is fully opened, the drag parachute reaches the maximum dynamic load.

Keywords

• |drag parachute|fluid-solid coupling|numerical simulation|inflation process|flow field model|dynamic load during parachute opening