Effects of characteristic geometric parameters on parafoil lift and drag

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the effects of characteristic geometric parameters on parafoil aerodynamic performance by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique.

Design/methodology/approach

The main characteristic geometric parameters cover the planform geometry, arc‐anhedral angle, basic airfoil and leading‐edge cut. By using the CFD technique, a large number of numerical parafoil models with different geometric parameters are developed to study the correlations between these parameters and parafoil aerodynamic performance.

Findings

The CFD technique is feasible and effective to study the effects of characteristic geometric parameters on parafoil aerodynamic performance in three‐dimensional (3‐D) flowfield condition. The planform geometry can affect the aerodynamic performance obviously. An increase in arc‐anhedral angle decreases the lift of a parafoil but has little effect on lift‐drag ratio. The model with smaller leading‐edge radius and thinner thickness of parafoil section achieves larger lift‐drag ratio. The leading‐edge cut has little effect on lift but increase drag dramatically; meanwhile, its effect on flowfield is confined to the nearby region of leading edge.

Practical implications

The presented 3‐D numerical simulation results of parafoil models are shown to have good agreement with the tunnel test data in general trend; meanwhile, considering its relatively low‐cost, the CFD method could be further used to predict coefficients in pre‐research or at non‐experimental conditions.

Originality/value

The paper can form the foundation of further studies on parafoil aerodynamic performance with different geometric parameters.

Citation

Cao, Y. and Zhu, X. (2013), "Effects of characteristic geometric parameters on parafoil lift and drag", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 85 No. 4, pp. 280-292. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-Jun-2011-0096