Fluid-Structure Interactions of a Round Parachute: Modeling and Simulation Techniques

A parallel computational technique is presented for carrying out three-dimensional simulations of parachute fluid-structure interactions, and this technique is applied to simulations of airdrop performance and control phenomena in terminal descent. The technique uses a stabilized space-time formulation of the time-dependent, three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible flows for the fluid dynamics part. Turbulent features of the flow are accounted for by using a zero-equation turbulence model. A finite element formulation derived from the principle of virtual work is used for the parachute structural dynamics. The parachute is represented as a cable-membrane tension structure. Coupling of the fluid dynamics with the structural dynamics is implemented over the fluid-structure interface, which is the parachute canopy surface. Large deformations of the structure require that the fluid dynamics mesh is updated at every time step, and this is accomplished with an automatic mesh-moving method. The parachute used in the application presented here is a standard U.S. Army personnel parachute

[1]  Kun Lu,et al.  Issues in parachute structural modeling - Damping and wrinkling , 1999 .

[2]  T. Tezduyar,et al.  A new strategy for finite element computations involving moving boundaries and interfaces—the deforming-spatial-domain/space-time procedure. I: The concept and the preliminary numerical tests , 1992 .

[3]  J. Smagorinsky,et al.  GENERAL CIRCULATION EXPERIMENTS WITH THE PRIMITIVE EQUATIONS , 1963 .

[4]  S. Mittal,et al.  Computation of unsteady incompressible flows with the stabilized finite element methods: Space-time formulations, iterative strategies and massively parallel implementations , 1992 .

[5]  Charbel Farhat,et al.  Higher-Order Staggered and Subiteration Free Algorithms for Coupled Dynamic Aeroelasticity Problems , 1998 .

[6]  Tayfan E. Tezduyar,et al.  Stabilized Finite Element Formulations for Incompressible Flow Computations , 1991 .

[7]  Dominique Pelletier,et al.  On stabilized finite element formulations for incompressible flows , 1997 .

[8]  Richard Benney,et al.  Experimental study of fluid-structure interactions on a cross parachute - Comparison of wind tunnel data and drop data with CFD predictions , 1999 .

[9]  T. Hughes,et al.  Streamline upwind/Petrov-Galerkin formulations for convection dominated flows with particular emphasis on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations , 1990 .

[10]  C. Lacroix,et al.  Fluid-structure simulation of a 3D ram air parachute with SINPA software , 1999 .

[11]  Michael L. Accorsi,et al.  Parachute fluid-structure interactions: 3-D computation , 2000 .

[12]  S. Mittal,et al.  Massively parallel finite element computation of incompressible flows involving fluid-body interactions , 1994 .

[13]  Yuri Mosseev.  The decelerator pitch-dependent performances prediction based on 3D aeroelastic analysis , 1999 .

[14]  Charbel Farhat,et al.  Matching fluid and structure meshes for aeroelastic computations : a parallel approach , 1995 .

[15]  S. Mittal,et al.  A finite element study of incompressible flows past oscillating cylinders and aerofoils , 1992 .

[16]  Richard Benney,et al.  Computational fluid-structure interaction model for parachute inflation , 1996 .

[17]  Tayfun E. Tezduyar,et al.  PARALLEL FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION OF 3D INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOWS: FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTIONS , 1995 .

[18]  Rainald Loehner,et al.  Fluid-structure-thermal interaction using a loose coupling algorithm and adaptive unstructured grids , 1998 .

[19]  Michael L. Accorsi,et al.  CURRENT 3-D STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC FINITE ELEMENT MODELING CAPABILITIES , 1997 .

[20]  Tayfun E. Tezduyar,et al.  Massively parallel finite element simulation Of compressible and incompressible flows , 1994 .

[21]  E G Ewing,et al.  Recovery Systems Design Guide , 1978 .

[22]  Tayfun E. Tezduyar,et al.  Parallel finite element simulation of large ram-air parachutes , 1997 .

[23]  Charbel Farhat,et al.  MIXED EXPLICITlIMPLICIT TIME INTEGRATION OF COUPLED AEROELASTIC PROBLEMS: AND DISTRIBUTED SOLUTION THREE-FIELD FORMULATION, GEOMETRIC CONSERVATION , 1995 .

[24]  Timothy Bretl,et al.  Fluid-structure interaction simulation of a cross parachute: Comparison of numerical predictions with wind tunnel data , 1999 .

[25]  R. Glowinski,et al.  Stabilized Finite Element Formulations for Incompressible Flow , 2003 .

[26]  Tayfun E. Tezduyar,et al.  Simulation of flow problems with moving mechanical components, fluid–structure interactions and two‐fluid interfaces , 1997 .

[27]  S. Mittal,et al.  A new strategy for finite element computations involving moving boundaries and interfaces—the deforming-spatial-domain/space-time procedure. II: Computation of free-surface flows, two-liquid flows, and flows with drifting cylinders , 1992 .

[28]  R Benney,et al.  A 3-D finite element structural parachute model , 1995 .

[29]  C. W. Peterson.  The Fluid Dynamics of Parachute Inflation , 1996 .

[30]  Michael L. Accorsi,et al.  Controllable airdrop simulations utilizing a 3-D structural dynamic model , 1999 .