Cargo Parachute Research Articles

The Application Of Parachute Goods As An Alternative Logistics Distribution To Help Victims Of Natural Disasters In Isolated Areas

Facing the complexity of logistics distribution related to natural disasters in Indonesia, a geographically vulnerable country to various types of disasters, especially in isolated areas, requires an efficient and effective solution. One solution being explored is the implementation of cargo parachutes as an alternative logistics distribution to enhance the resilience of communities in those areas. This research aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the potential and challenges of using cargo parachutes in the context of logistics distribution in Indonesia. Through a literature review conducted using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, this study explores information regarding the advantages, challenges, and practical implications of implementing cargo parachutes. It was found that the use of cargo parachutes offers a quick and responsive solution in distributing logistics aid in isolated areas, often difficult to reach by conventional land transportation. The main advantage of implementing cargo parachutes is their ability to provide faster response times in logistics distribution. In the context of natural disasters, speed is crucial to ensure that aid arrives promptly where it is needed. Cargo parachutes can also improve the accessibility of aid, especially in isolated areas that may be challenging to reach conventionally. However, this study also identifies several challenges that need to be addressed. Landing accuracy is a critical issue, especially with weather variability, wind direction, and the topography of the area. Additionally, safety aspects, operational costs, and coordination among various stakeholders are challenges that must be overcome to ensure the success of cargo parachute implementation. Practical recommendations emerging from this research involve the use of monitoring technology, training for personnel involved in logistics distribution using cargo parachutes, and the development of clear Emergency Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Monitoring technology, such as GPS, can help improve landing accuracy, while personnel training and emergency SOPs can enhance operational effectiveness and safety.

Optimal appearance determining technique of cargo parachute system at early design stages

Optimal appearance determining technique of cargo parachute system at early design stages

A novel algorithm for conceptual design and optimisation of an affordable gliding airdrop platform using TCOMOGA

ABSTRACTUnlike conventional ballistic parachutes, gliding parachutes have been extensively used as guided precision aerial delivery system (GPADS) platforms in recent years. The reasoning may be found in gliding and manoeuvering capabilities, which make this kind of ram-air parachutes superior for precision aerial delivery application. In contrast, wing-shaped configuration along with more design variables create a cumbersome design procedure for this type of parachute. Especially, when an affordable configuration is demanded, the design procedure will be a more important problem. In this respect, an innovative integrated design framework is proposed in which significant design aspects are considered so that the gliding parachute configuration can be optimiseoptimised through a bi-objective optimisation problem to find optimum cost for achievable gliding ranges. To do so, the configuration is defined with minimum required parameters and design space is constrained by performance and stability as significant design requirements to guarantee the feasibility of the solutions in practice. The objective functions are defined in terms of gliding characteristics and amount of materials for fabrication which are representative for maximum reachable stand-off distance and unit cost, respectively. As an effective numerical optimisation method, a niched multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is used to generate a pareto-optimal set for a specific payload mass whereas constraints are handled through a tournament selection process. Based on results, the provided pareto front can aid the designers in decision-making and trade-off between demanded objectives for a payload weight. The underlying design problem is solved using an all-at-once (AAO) approach and the design loop converges to favourable results in a reasonable time. Finally, as a comparative study, an optimiseoptimised affordable cargo parachute is proposed for the GPADS application in which the material cost is reduced by at least 25% with respect to an available low-cost gliding parachute with the same glide ratio.

Fluid–structure interaction modelling of parachute soft‐landing dynamics

AbstractSoft landing of a payload with the aid of a retraction device is an important aspect in cargo parachute operations. Accurate simulation of this class of parachute operations with a computer model that takes into account the fluid–structure interactions involved would complement drop tests and support the design of cargo parachute systems. We describe the computational methods developed for this purpose, demonstrate how the computational model works in investigation of different soft‐landing conditions, and show a good correlation between the data from our simulations and drop tests. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Method for Steerable Clustered Round Parachutes

The U.S. Army is currently pursuing a low-cost parachute system for precision airdrop of cargo. Low-cost clusters of round parachutes are being considered as a potential candidate for such a system. A method is presented that provides a glide and steering capability for a cluster of round parachutes for precision airdrop. The method involves partially connecting two round parachutes that have openings and pulldown skirts on their canopies. Glide and steering are achieved by maneuvering the pulldown skirt. This method was developed and tested first using a cluster of two one-quarter-scale G12 cargo parachutes. System glide and turn were demonstrated on a cluster of two full-scale G12 parachutes. Currently, the method is being applied to a cluster of two G11 parachutes for precision airdrop of a 4,540 kg load

Guidance and Control for Flat-Circular Parachutes

The Affordable Guided Airdrop System (AGAS) is being evaluated as a low-cost alternative for meeting the military’ s requirements for precision airdrop. Designed to bridge the gap between relatively expensive high-glide ratio parafoil systems and uncontrolled ballistic parachutes, the AGAS concept offers the benee ts of high-altitude parachute releases as well as the potential for highly accurate point-of-use delivery of material. The design goal of the AGAS development is to provide a guidance, navigation, and control system that can be placed in line with cargo parachute systems, for example the G-12 e at-circular parachute, and standard delivery containers (A-22) without modifying these e elded systems. The AGAS is required to provide an accuracy of 328 ft (100 m), circular error probable (CEP), with a desired goal of 164 ft (50 m) CEP. The feasibility of this concept was investigated through modeling and simulation. A three-degree-of-freedom (3DOF) point mass e ight dynamics model, sensor models of a commercial global positioning system (GPS) receiver and magnetic compass, and a model of the control and actuator system were incorporated into a Monte Carlo simulation tool. A bang-bang controller was implemented with trajectory tracking algorithms using position and heading information. Flight testing, using a radio-controlled scaled prototype, provided parachutedynamic and control response data to support themodeling efforts.Thestudy demonstrated thatthisconcepthas thepotential to providecontrolofpreviously unguided round parachutes to accuracies of approximately 210 ft (64 m) CEP. The program is now continuing into the next phase to include the development of a full-scale prototype system for payloads up to 2200 lb (1000 kg).

Radial reefing method for accelerated and controlled parachute opening

Future Army airdrop systems will require aerial insertion of cargo and personnel from low altitudes to minimize ground-fire hazards. A radial reefing method was developed as a potential candidate to meet this requirement. The radial reefing method involves selecting equally spaced radials of a parachute canopy and reefing these radials near the skirt; concurrently, the canopy fabric adjacent to the reefed radials is puckered. Reefing the canopy this way creates large fabric pockets near the skirt during initial canopy inflation, resulting in an accelerated and controlled parachute opening. This was confirmed by full-scale airdrop testing using single Army personnel and cargo parachutes. In addition to demonstrating promises for single-canopy low-altitude airdrop applications, the radial reefing method also shows potential to improve clustered parachute opening by minimizing canopy enfolding and slumping. Nomenclature F0 = opening force, Ibf Fs = snatch force, Ibf ng - number of gores between reefed radials np = number of fabric pockets n, = total number of gores of canopy R = canopy radius, ft r = radial reefing ratio t = time, s tp = time when upper canopy begins to inflate, s ts = time when snatch force occurs, s

Controlled opening method for clustered parachutes

This paper presents a method for achieving simultaneous opening of clustered parachutes. The method involves connecting and partially reefing the parachutes in a cluster during the initial stage of the opening so that they open together as a single parachute; they are then disconnected and disreefed at almost full inflation, thereby controlling and opening the parachute simultaneously. This method, called the controlled opening method, was tested with clusters of 64-ft-diam G-12 cargo parachutes, 100-ft-diam G-ll cargo parachutes, and 28-ft-diam C-9 personnel parachutes. Their openings were significantly improved when compared to the openings of these clusters without using the controlled opening method. LUSTERED parachutes offer several advantages over a single large parachute. The important ones are shorter opening time and distance, easier fabrication and ground re- covery, and more stable descent. The major difficulty of clus- tered parachutes is that parachutes in a cluster generally open randomly and unevenly; the random opening results in a large variation in opening times and an uneven distribution of open- ing forces among the parachutes. Consequently, the lead- opening parachutes are often damaged, resulting in an un- satisfactory airdrop operation. In view of the importance of uniform opening of clustered parachutes, some fundamental studies of flowfields and open- ing of clustered parachutes were conducted by Braun and Walcott,1 Heinrich and Noreen,2 Heinrich et al., 3 Wolf and Spahr,4 and Nicuum and Kovacevic.5 Current techniques for improved cluster opening are generally those used for con- trolling the opening of a single parachute. They include reef- ing the canopy skirt, adding a secondary chute at the skirt, introducing a pull-down centerline, and applying tension force at the apex by a drogue chute. These techniques generally modify the opening of a single parachute, but they do not necessarily improve the opening of a cluster as a whole. This is evidenced by the current problems in opening 100-ft-diam standard U.S. Army G-ll cargo parachute clusters6 and the great difficulties in opening 137-ft-diam developmental cargo parachute clusters.7-8 Most recently, Johnson9 developed a central reefing/disreefing system that addressed the opening of a cluster as a whole. His system improved the opening of a cluster of three 52.5-ft-diam parachutes. This paper presents a method for improved opening of clustered parachutes. The method was tested extensively with clusters of various size and number of parachutes. Test results demonstrated that the method improves their opening significantly.