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ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA ›› 2022, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (12): 126289.doi: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2021.26289

• Fluid Mechanics and Flight Mechanics • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influence mechanism of fabric permeability of canopy on aerodynamic performance of Mars parachute

XU Xin1, JIA He2,3, CHEN Yaqian1,4, RONG Wei3, JIANG Wei3, XUE Xiaopeng1   

  1. 1. School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
    2. College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China;
    3. Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity, Beijing 100094, China;
    4. School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
  • Received:2021-08-27 Revised:2021-09-22 Published:2021-11-23
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (12072377, 11702332, 11972192); Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2022 JJ30678); Foundation of Laboratory of Aerospace Entry, Descent and Landing Technology (EDL19092126); Graduate Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province (CX20200258); Graduate Independent Exploration and Innovation Project of Central South University (2020zzts758)

Abstract: The process of entry, descent and landing of the capsule is a key stage of the Mars exploration mission, during which the Mars parachute plays a crucial role in the capsule deceleration from supersonic to subsonic speed. However, the parachute successfully used to date in all Mars missions, i.e., the disk-gap-band parachute, has reached its size limit, whereas the new generation of the supersonic disk-sail and ring-sail parachute has failed in their flight tests, which may be related to their complicated porosities (i.e., geometric porosity and fabric permeability). The research on the fabric permeability is mostly considered for cases in the subsonic flows, and the influence mechanism of fabric permeability under supersonic conditions is not clear and rarely reported. Based on the Mars Science Laboratory parachute model, we perform numerical simulations to study the influence mechanism of fabric permeability on the aerodynamic performance of the Mars parachute from the key parameters, i.e., the thickness of the canopy and a specific porosity (computed from its fabric permeability at a standard pressure differential). Results show that the change of the specific porosity (fabric permeability) has a minor effect on the drag performance of the parachute, while exerting a major effect on the parachute stability. When the thickness is 1 mm, the canopy with a specific porosity of 16%-24% exhibits better stability, and the best stability is achieved when the canopy has a specific porosity of 12% with a thickness of 0.2-0.5 mm. Furthermore, the porous parachute placed in the supersonic flows is more stable than that in the subsonic flows. These results can provide theoretical reference for the design of the fabric permeability of new generation parachutes.

Key words: fabric permeability, disk-gap-band parachute, aerodynamic performance, Mars exploration, unsteady flows

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