doi: 10.3850/S2010428611000122

Computational Analysis of Supersonic Flexible Parachute Using Immersed Boundary Method

Xiaopeng Xue^a and Yoshiaki Nakamura^b Department of Aerospace Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan. ^axue@fluid.nuae.nagoya-u.ac.jp ^bnakamura@nuae.nagoya-u.ac.jp

ABSTRACT

In the present study, the supersonic flow over two-dimensional and axisymmetric flexible parachute models were numerically simulated by solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Time-variations of change in the canopy shape for the flexible parachute models were treated by using the immersed boundary method together with the fluid-structure coupling scheme. The objective of the present study is to show that the immersed boundary method can be properly applied to the supersonic parachute problem, to analyze the effects of aerodynamic interference on the dynamics of a parachute system, and to examine the effects of Mach number on the behavior of the flexible parachutes. As a result, it was found that the immersed boundary method can work well for the supersonic flexible parachute problem. It was also found that in the two-dimensional parachute case, there are the steady foreshock and the wake/aftershock interaction, while in the axisymmetric parachute case, there are complicated interactions of the wake/aftershock and foreshock/aftershock. In addition, the smaller Mach number becomes, the larger the effect on the canopy behavior becomes.

Keywords: Supersonic parachute, Flexible structure, Immersed boundary method, Fluid- structure coupling method, Aerodynamic interference.

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