Acta Mech Sin (2007) 23:627–633
DOI 10.1007/s10409-007-0112-3
RESEARCH PAPER
Study on transient aerodynamic characteristics of parachute
opening process
Li Yu · Xiao Ming
Received: 14 August 2006 / Revised: 11 August 2007 / Accepted: 13 August 2007 / Published online: 7 November 2007
© Springer-Verlag 2007
Abstract In the research of parachute, canopy inflation
process modeling is one of the most complicated tasks. As
canopy often experiences the largest deformations and loa-
dings during a very short time, it is of great difficulty for
theoretical analysis and experimental measurements. In this
paper, aerodynamic equations and structural dynamics equa-
tions were developed for describing parachute opening
process, and an iterative coupling solving strategy incorpo-
rating the above equations was proposed for a small-scale,
flexible and flat-circular parachute. Then, analyses were car-
ried out for canopy geometry, time-dependent pressure diffe-
rence between the inside and outside of the canopy, transient
vortex around the canopy and the flow field in the radial plane
as a sequence in opening process. The mechanism of the
canopy shape development was explained from perspective
of transient flow fields during the inflation process. Experi-
ments of the parachute opening process were conducted in a
wind tunnel, in which instantaneous shape of the canopy was
measured by high velocity camera and the opening loading
was measured by dynamometer balance. The theoretical pre-
dictions were found in good agreement with the experimen-
tal results, validating the proposed approach. This numerical
method can improve the situation of strong dependence of
parachute research on wind tunnel tests, and is of signifi-
cance to the understanding of the mechanics of parachute
inflation process.
The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (10377006).
The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.
L. Yu (B) · X. Ming
College of Aerospace Engineering,
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Nanjing 210016, China
e-mail: yuli_happy@nuaa.edu.cn
Keywords Parachute · Opening process · Numerical
simulation · Flow field characteristics · Aerodynamics ·
Structural dynamics
1 Introduction
Among the parachute’s descent process of deployment,
inflation and terminal, the modeling of inflation process is
the most complex one [1–5]. First, as the canopy is made of
soft fabrics, it often experiences extremely large deformation
and loading and involves geometric and material nonlinea-
rity, and thus this is a very difficult problem in the field of
structure dynamics. Second, the flow field around canopy
turns to be very complex with significant turbulence inside
the canopy and large flow separation outside the canopy,
meanwhile some airflow passes through the chute porosity,
and all these are difficult to deal with. Third, the complexity
of the problem arises mainly from the fact that the flow
field and the canopy shape are interactive, and thus this is
also a complex problem involving fluid structure interaction
[6–11].
It is extremely difficult to carry out a complete theoreti-
cal analysis on such a complex transient nonlinear process
without referring to empirical elements. Because the canopy
experiences a large deformation during the inflation process
which lasts only a short time, it would also be difficult to get
the velocity and pressure distributions around the canopy
by experiments on parachute opening process. Therefore,
numerical simulation methods are adopted to investigate the
opening process as many scholars did [6–14]. The parachute
research abroad based on the Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI)
method was developed early in the 1990s [6–10], however,
little information about models and simulation results can
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be acquired because of confidentiality and other reasons. In

China, the FSI research on parachute began just two or three
years ago, however, focuses were mainly laid on one or ano-
ther aspect of the flow or the structure [11–14], and experi-
mental results were absent or insufficient for validation. The
FSI research on parachute can not only help us to unders-
tand the mechanics of the parachute working process, but
also provide a new method which is a great progress compa-
red with the original semi-theoretical and semi-experiential
method. Based on the theory of aerodynamics and structure
dynamics, an approach incorporating the mass spring damper
(MSD) model into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is
established in this paper, and the numerical results provide us
with some transient information about the parachute’s shape,
drag, velocity, pressure distribution, and flow-field characte-
ristics. The computational result is found in good agreement
with experimental results, and thus can be used to predict the
opening behavior of a flat-circular parachute.

2 Mathematical model

2.1 Computational fluid dynamics model

Fig. 1 Initial geometry of canopy
In the modeling, a typical flat-circular parachute (0.97 m in
diameter) is adopted, in which the solid-cloth of the para-
As shown in Fig. 1, we assume that the canopy has been
chute is made of zero porosity fabric without apex vent with
deployed and the initial opening shape has been given (hemi-
an area of 0.78 m2 . The canopy is made from eight gores, and
cycle combined with inverted cone) [6,7]. The flow-field of
the suspension line length is 0.75 m. The following assump-
the parachute is simulated with computational fluid dyna-
tions are made: (1) the air permeability is zero; (2) the initial
mics (CFD) and the multiple block body-fitted grid genera-
canopy shape is assumed by referring to experiments; (3) the
tion method is adopted, as shown in Fig. 2. The boundary
effect of gravity is ignored; (4) two-dimensional axisymme-
conditions are listed as follows:
tric model is adopted [6–11]. In order to computer the flow
Inflow boundary condition of the velocity is specified as
field around the canopy, the standard k–ε turbulent model is
v y = 30 m/s, and p = 0 (relative pressure) is imposed at out-
used.
flow boundaries. Free-slip boundary conditions are imposed
A general equation form is given as [15]:

 on the side “walls” of the fluid domain, and the central plane
∂(ρφ) ∂ ∂ ∂φ is considered as the symmetry boundary. A Dirichlet-type
+ (ρv j φ) =  + s, (1)
∂τ ∂x j ∂x j ∂x j boundary of (v − v s )n = 0 is imposed at canopy boundaries,
where φ is the generic variables,  is the generalized diffu- where, v s is the velocity of canopy.
sion coefficient, s is a source item. For the mass conservation
equation, momentum conservation, k equation and ε equa- 2.2 Structural dynamics calculation model
tion, these variables are respectively given as:
φ = 1, vi , k, ε, A parachute is a complex aero elastic body with tensile elasti-
µt µt city and porosity [16]. Generally, the canopy is considered as
 = 0, µ + µt , µ + , µ+ , continuous membranous-materials, which have small thick-
σk σε

 ness and large deformation fabric. Thus, the canopy is mode-
∂p ∂ ∂v j
s = 0, − + µe f f , led as a series of lumped mass points connected by springs
∂ xi ∂x j ∂ xi

 and dampers as shown in Fig. 3. The MSD model is axi-
∂u i ∂u i ∂u j symmetric, modelling flat-circular solid canopies. Newton’s
µt + − ρε,
∂x j ∂x j ∂ xi second law is applied at a user-defined number of mass points


c1 ε ∂u i ∂u i ∂u j to obtain a set of coupled nonlinear differential equations. A
µt + − c2 ρε.
k ∂x j ∂x j ∂ xi free body diagram of a typical interior mass point is shown

123
Study on transient aerodynamic characteristics of parachute opening process 629

Fig. 3 Mass spring damper model

Fig. 2 Computational grid structure

in Fig. 4, where F1 is the force caused by aerodynamic

differential pressure acting across the canopy surface pro-
vided by CFD method, F2 is the sum of the forces from the
meridian spring and damper connecting mass points i and
i − 1, F3 is similar to F2 between i and i + 1 and F4 is
the force from the “hoop” spring contribution. The “hoop”
springs are actuated only when the current distance between
the y axis of symmetry and the mass point i is greater than the
constructed meridian distance from the apex of the canopy
to mass point i. Applying Newton’s second law to a typical
Fig. 4 Force diagram of the free body
interior mass point in the x and y directions, we can obtain
the following equations:
d2 xi mass point on the canopy is considered as vx1 = 0, and the
mi = F1 sin αi − F2 cos βi−1 + F3 cos βi − F4 , skirt mass point is affected by its differential pressure and the
dt 2 (2)
d2 yi forces which are produced by the front nodal point of canopy
m i 2 = F1 cos αi + F2 sin βi−1 − F3 sin βi , and the suspension line.
dt
where
F1 = pi · d Ai ,
li−1 d( li−1 ) 3 Coupling and the calculation method
F2 = ki−1 bi−1 + ci−1 ,
li−1 dt
Since the opening process is actually a coupled process bet-
ll d( li )
F3 = ki bi + ci , ween the flow field around the canopy and the deformation
li dt of the canopy, it would be necessary to acquire some of the
ri
F4 = kh i bi , data by means of experiments or assumptions if either the
ri aerodynamic only or the structure dynamic only was used in
where, kh i , ki , ci , bi are the hoop spring constant, meridian modeling the behavior of the parachute opening. This non-
spring constant, meridian spring constant and unit width of coupled method is not a satisfactory numerical simulation of
canopy, respectively. The boundary condition of the apex FSI for parachutes.

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Fig. 5 Coupling strategy
In general, there are three coupling methods as follows:
(1) the strong coupling method is a joint solution method sol-
ving the structure dynamics equation together with the fluid
dynamics equation simultaneously. This is the most objective
model which reflects the nature of fluid structure interaction.
However, due to great differences in the characteristics of the
two types of equations, their compatibility is poor, and super-
computers are needed in solution. (2) The moderate coupling
method is similar to a parallel algorithm, in which either
the structural dynamics equation or the fluid dynamics equa-
tion should be solved separately. But all of the instantaneous
parameters of the canopy should be equal in the two types
of equation. Owing to great differences of time it takes to
compute these two equations, such method still needs consi-
derable storage and CPU capacity. (3) Iterative coupling is
an explicit marching method as shown in Fig. 5.
The CFD flow solver provides the pressure at node points
along a radial which are then used as input data in the MSD
model. The MSD code integrates the equations of motion for
the canopy and returns current nodal positions and velocities
to the CFD model. The node points on the MSD model must
coincide with a unique set of adjacent CFD grid points at all
times. The iteratively coupled is also referred to as “loosely
coupled” and can offer FSI solutions accurate to first-order
only. But it can be solved with PC, and thus is adopted in this
paper to simulate transient canopy shapes and flow fields
during the parachute opening process.
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L. Yu, X. Ming
The coupling approach used in the model is an explicit
method marching in time. At each time step, the fluid and
structure solvers can be used as subroutines in the FSI model,
and the canopy surface is the interaction surface of the two
governing equations. The initial opening shape is assumed as
a given hemicycle combined with an inverted cone. Within a
short time, the canopy shape and the flow field changed lit-
tle, and thus the fluid problem can be treated as quasi-steady
at each time step. The CFD solver gives the pressure distri-
bution of the flow field at the first time step under the initial
conditions. Then, the pressure distribution over the surface of
the structural model is sent to the structural code. After inte-
grating the structural code and the equations of motion at the
given time step, the positions and velocities of the canopy’s
mass point can be solved, which are then returned to and
updated in the CFD model. The process ends at a specified
time. With this nonlinear iteration loop, the instantaneous
canopy shape and the flow field can be obtained.
4 Simulation results and analysis
Figure 6 shows a sequence of computational canopy shapes
at equal time steps from zero up to 0.129 s, whereas the time-
variation of canopy shapes measured by the high velocity
camera in wind-tunnel tests is shown in Fig. 7 [17].
The computational results show that the canopy apex col-
lapses within a short time and begins to re-inflate. However,
as the simulated pressure difference in the canopy coping
edge is greater than the surrounding pressure difference for
zero air permeability. This phenomenon can not be observed
clearly in the test since the actual fabric is slightly permeable.
The phenomenon that the coping edge would protrude in this
short time period and be pulled back would also be observed
as a result of the spring and damper force, which is found in
good agreement with the simulation results. The seesaw brea-
thing phenomenon of the canopy vertex would be produced
by structural force and fluid force. The simulated total ope-
ning time is nearly equal to the experimental result, and the
computational time-varied canopy shapes are also in agree-
ments with the experimental ones.
The pressure and velocity fields around the canopy at dif-
ferent time are shown in Fig. 8, where the pressure contour
is shown on the left side whereas the right side gives the
velocity vectors.
As to airtight solid canopies, airstreams would flow around
the canopy skirt. Inside the canopy, the velocity decreases
and the pressure increases along the stream direction. Sym-
metric vortexes occur inside the canopy, the vortex direc-
tion on the left side of the symmetric axis is clockwise, and
the air bypasses the canopy skirt. At the same time, sym-
metric vortexes also occur outside of the canopy, and the
vortex direction on the left side of the symmetric axis is
Study on transient aerodynamic characteristics of parachute opening process
Fig. 6 Canopy shape vs. time
(0 s ≤ t ≤ 0.129 s).
a 0 s < t ≤ 0.063 s;
b 0.066 s ≤ t ≤ 0.129 s
Fig. 7 Canopy shape versus
time in the test
counterclockwise. As the canopy opens, the vortex inside
the canopy becomes shorter and wider and decreases gra-
dually, while the vortex outside the canopy becomes longer
and wider. The center of the outside vortex moves to wake
zone while the center of the inside vortex approaches the
canopy. The canopy inflates gradually to its full shape by
the force of differential pressure and the spring and damper
force, and finally the canopy shape becomes stable.
As the velocity at the canopy skirt increases, the pressure
decreases, and a significant suction zone occurs. As the velo-
city increases, a second suction occurs at the coping edge of
the convex coping zone. The simulated time-varied pressure
difference distribution along the canopy’s radial is shown in
Fig. 9.
The initial pressure difference between inside and outside
of the canopy is small during the total opening process and
the canopy shape changes slowly in the first stage. The pres-
sure difference increases gradually as the canopy expands,
and then, with the inflow of air, the process of canopy infla-
tion accelerates. By 0.048 s, the meridian length of canopy
reaches the maximum, and the largest meridian deformation
631
occurs. As the canopy’s tension force increases, the inflation
of the canopy extends toward the canopy skirt. The canopy
rapidly expands outward along the radial, and the apex moves
to the crossing point of suspension lines along the axial direc-
tion by the action of fluid and structural forces. Up to 0.126 s,
there’s little change in the canopy shape. During this time per-
iod, the relative peak pressure difference at the coping edge
is reduced and the distance between the node of peak pres-
sure difference and the apex increases gradually. When the
canopy inflates to full extent, the pressure difference along
the radial becomes nearly equalized except the canopy skirt
region.
Figure 10 shows time history of the opening force given by
simulation and experiment results (the computational initial
time is 0.31 s which is assumed to be the experimental initial
time for inflation process). Since the spring-damper model
of the parachute is adopted, some coefficients are regarded
as constant and the damper force is neglected, and thus the
simulated canopy deformation and opening force are greater
than experimental measurements, and the simulated opening
shock time is slightly ahead. The simulated inflation time
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632 L. Yu, X. Ming

Fig. 8 CFD results

is about 0.13 s, which is also in good agreement with expe-
riment results.
5 Conclusion
In parachute research, the opening process research has long
been one of the most important and difficult problem. In
order to understand the mechanisms of parachute opening
process, CFD incorporating a MSD model is developed in
this paper, and our FSI simulation techniques are tested by
simulating the inflation of an axisymmetric parachute. The
numerical simulation gives the time-varied canopy shape, the
flow field, the computation vortexes around the canopy and
its transient characteristic as well as the pressure difference
of the canopy along the radial. The simulation results show
that the canopy recovers from its collapsed configuration and
begins to re-inflate, the pressure difference in the canopy edge

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Study on transient aerodynamic characteristics of parachute opening process
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improve the situation of strong dependency on wind tunnel
testing, and provide significant insight into the behavior of
parachute during the opening process.
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