Measurements of individual parachute loads in a clustered parachute system
When developing any parachute system, it is necessary to know the loads produced by the parachute throughout the deployment process. A major concern with a clustered parachute system is the nonconcurrent inflation of the individual parachutes. If this nonconcurrent inflation produces sufficiently large asymmetric loads, the design loads may be exceeded. In the past, load data have frequently been inferred from acceleration data of the parachute test vehicle. However, due to vehicle angle of attack and attitude relative to the longitudinal axis of the parachute, this method can give erroneous results. Thus, in the development of parachute systems, it is desirable to have an instrumentation system which can directly measure the load produced by each parachute. Due to the environment, this system must be very rugged and have minimal space requirements. Such a system has been designed and incorporated into a test program at Sandia National Laboratories. The system is described and representative test results are given to demonstrate the usefulness of such a system in a development program. 3 refs., 6 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6279558
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-88-2750C; CONF-8904118-8; ON: DE89007656
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10. AIAA aerodynamic decelerator systems technical conference, Cocoa Beach, FL, USA, 18 Apr 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Parachute system design, analysis, and simulation tool. Status report
Parachute system design, analysis, and simulation tool