Publications Details
An introduction to testing parachutes in wind tunnels
This paper reviews some of the technical considerations and current practices for testing parachutes in conventional wind tunnels. Special challenges to the experimentalist caused by the fabric construction, flexible geometry, and bluff shape of parachutes are discussed. In particular, the topics of measurement technique, similarity considerations, and wall interference are addressed in a summary manner. Many references are cited which provide detailed coverage of the state of the art in testing methods.