An experimental study is conducted to characterize the aerodynamic performances of two parachutes in the Mars probe decelerator system and the experiments are carried out in the 2.4 m×2.4 m transonic wind tunnel. The lift, drag and pitch moment coefficients versus the angle of attack from 0 to 25 degrees at Mach 0.4 and 0.8 are accurately measured and carefully analyzed. A novel mathematical model is proposed to express the aerodynamic characteristics of the parachutes. The obtained results show that the drag coefficient of the parachutes varies in a small range of 0.525~0.575 at Mach 0.4 and 0.8 as the angle of attack increases from 0 to 25 degrees. The simulated results of the propose model have a well agreement with the wind tunnel experimental data. The investigations in the present paper have a good significant to the engineering development of the parachutes in Mars probe decelerator system.
In order to carry out the wind tunnel test of the parachutes in 2.4m×2.4m transonic wind tunnel of CARDC which is located at Mianyang, a supporting mechanism for the attack angle from 0 to 25 degrees at Mach 0.4 and 0.8 is designed and optimized in the present paper. Three section shapes (circle, ellipse, and airfoil) are utilized to analyze the aerodynamic characteristics and mechanical performances of the designed supporting mechanism. The aerodynamic and mechanical simulated results of the three different section shapes are compared and discussed. The optimized design is verified by wind tunnel experiments. The results show that the section shape of circle has the largest modal frequency of first order (53.497Hz), the smallest Mises stress (34.1MPa) and displacement (0.4735mm). It is the best section shape of the three for the supporting mechanism. The investigation in the present paper has a good significant meaning to the testing technologies of the wind tunnel experiments for parachutes.
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