In the summer of 2014, Performance Designs, Inc. contacted Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center to lead an investigation on square parachute design and optimization using modern computational methods to reduce costs in experimental testing. This thesis investigates the foundation for using an implicit fluid-structure interaction computational model to tackle the challenges of modeling a highly-flexible, porous fabric for design optimization of a parafoil parachute’s transient performance. Canopy deformations of a single-cell square parafoil using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model with nonlinear material modeling is compared to an experimental setup of matching geometry. The results of this thesis yielded a partial match of 25% between the experimental and FSI model deformations and thus asserts that fluid-structural modeling using ANSYS Multiphysics can be used to model square parachutes.
","abstract_html":"<p>In the summer of 2014, Performance Designs, Inc. contacted Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center to lead an investigation on square parachute design and optimization using modern computational methods to reduce costs in experimental testing. This thesis investigates the foundation for using an implicit fluid-structure interaction computational model to tackle the challenges of modeling a highly-flexible, porous fabric for design optimization of a parafoil parachute’s transient performance. Canopy deformations of a single-cell square parafoil using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model with nonlinear material modeling is compared to an experimental setup of matching geometry. The results of this thesis yielded a partial match of 25% between the experimental and FSI model deformations and thus asserts that fluid-structural modeling using ANSYS Multiphysics can be used to model square parachutes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Burnett, Brandon"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:52Z","subjects":["coupled","fluid-structure interaction","parafoil","Aerospace Engineering","Computational Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/294","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Burnett, Brandon"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["coupled","fluid-structure interaction","parafoil","Aerospace Engineering","Computational Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/294"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the summer of 2014, Performance Designs, Inc. contacted Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center to lead an investigation on square parachute design and optimization using modern computational methods to reduce costs in experimental testing. This thesis investigates the foundation for using an implicit fluid-structure interaction computational model to tackle the challenges of modeling a highly-flexible, porous fabric for design optimization of a parafoil parachute’s transient performance. Canopy deformations of a single-cell square parafoil using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model with nonlinear material modeling is compared to an experimental setup of matching geometry. The results of this thesis yielded a partial match of 25% between the experimental and FSI model deformations and thus asserts that fluid-structural modeling using ANSYS Multiphysics can be used to model square parachutes.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of a Parafoil"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Burnett, Brandon"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the summer of 2014, Performance Designs, Inc. contacted Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center to lead an investigation on square parachute design and optimization using modern computational methods to reduce costs in experimental testing. This thesis investigates the foundation for using an implicit fluid-structure interaction computational model to tackle the challenges of modeling a highly-flexible, porous fabric for design optimization of a parafoil parachute’s transient performance. Canopy deformations of a single-cell square parafoil using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model with nonlinear material modeling is compared to an experimental setup of matching geometry. The results of this thesis yielded a partial match of 25% between the experimental and FSI model deformations and thus asserts that fluid-structural modeling using ANSYS Multiphysics can be used to model square parachutes.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/294"],"dc:subject":["coupled","fluid-structure interaction","parafoil","Aerospace Engineering","Computational Engineering"],"dc:title":["Coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of a Parafoil"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:52Z"}