Improved measurement of the dynamic loads acting on rotating parachutes

An experimental apparatus for measuring the steady and nonsteady aerodynamic loads acting on parachutes and decelerators has been designed and built in the Wind Tunnel Laboratory at Technion. This apparatus was installed in the subsonic wind tunnel. Calibration tests were carried out with both deadweights and a rigid body simulating the flow around a rotating parachute. Good agreement was obtained between the results of these tests and previously recorded data. The experiments with parachutes included both static and rotating cases of a cross-type parachute with a W/L of 0.333. The measurements in the static case included all six force and moment components. In the rotating case, five load components were measured plus roll damping and roll transfer capability. The results prove the ability of the modified system in accurately measuring the aerodynamic loads without interrupting the flowfield of the parachute, as well as the versatility of the apparatus in obtaining dynamic data previously unobtainable in wind-tunnel measurements.