Advisor: Dr. Marilyn Smith

Milestone: PhD Thesis Proposal

Degree Program: Aerospace Engineering

Title: Empirical Model of Parachute Aerodynamics Sufficient to Capture Parachute-Payload Dynamic Motions During Planetary Descent

Abstract: The Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachute has been used to decelerate and stabilize entry vehicles to deliver landers and rovers to the surface of Mars since 1976. Parachutes are made of lightweight and flexible materials and are deployed in the wake of bluff bodies. This combination of complex aeroelastic phenomena creates challenges for modeling parachute aerodynamics during Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL). Modern high-fidelity EDL trajectory simulation tools assume that the parachute is a rigid body and that the aerodynamic forces and moments are defined by the wind incidence angles. While empirical correction factors are applied to account for the flight regime and to capture unsteady transients (such as inflation) past Mars EDL reconstructions indicate that parachute-payload dynamics predictions could be improved in the subsonic descent phase. This proposal will cover the methodology to improve the state of the art of parachute aerodynamic models derived from wind tunnel tests of DGB parachutes at subsonic conditions, with the goal of improving the parachute-payload dynamic motions predictions for planetary descent.

Date and time: 2026-12-07, 10 AM

Location: To be confirmed

Committee:
Dr. Marilyn Smith (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Olivia Fischer, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Keegan Moore, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Cristina Riso, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Juan Cruz, NASA Langley Research Center
Dr. Marilyn Smith (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering