An estimation method for parachute parameters

Abstract

As a significant tool of transportation widely used in the logistics field, a well-performed parachute is highly required for this demand, especially for the sake of higher cost performance. The current study aims to investigate the internal relationship amidst various parameters of the parachute, conducting error analysis and accordingly providing an optimal experimental scheme. The objective of this experiment is to determine reference area and the resistance coincident, which are primarily parameters to estimate the weight of the designed parachute. Because the reference area is hard to determine using regular geometry method, a new parameter area ratio is redefined as the ratio of the original area of parachute surface to the reference area so that the reference area can be calculated by solving geometry problem. A simplified assumption that the parachute can be seen as a quasi-rigid body was previously made in order to approach the ideal parachute. Despite several limitations of the experiment, the final results perfectly aligned with the pre-experiment expectation. By following the similar procedures and after several trials, the ratio of the original area of parachute surface to the reference area was determined to be 3.90 and the resistance coincident to fall in the range of 2.00-3.00.