Laminar Flow Parachute based on Origami/Kirigami

[sanman]

Laminar Flow Parachute based on Origami/Kirigami



Could it be useful for a multi-chute deployment to decelerate a space capsule?

Perhaps the laminar flow aspect would help keep the multiple chutes stable, keeping them from moving around too much and getting entangled with each other?

We'd also once discussed a drone-supported flying "catcher's mitt" or flying net, which could be flown up from the ground to intercept and catch an incoming booster stage
For the sake of discussion, imagine a smaller booster stage like for Electron, which doesn't have the means to do a retropropulsive landing, and therefore has to be caught.

So could this particular kind of parachute serve a dual purpose serving as a sort of "butterfly net" (ie. a deeper net), which also has the decelerative qualities of a parachute, with the addition of extra stability from laminar flow?

[redneck]

One does wonder at the impact capabilities of the concept. A balloon (dirigible) carries this aloft to perhaps 80,000 feet to intercept the incoming vehicle. Could it handle impact and deployment from Mach 3, or Mach 1?  If so, could it slow the vehicle enough for a barge landing. Or even provide enough time for the barge to maneuver under it. Multiple catch chutes at several altitudes?

[edzieba]

Paper here

Probably not useful as a main chute for space applications: mass is much higher, packaging is more complex (need a big disc the size of your final 'chute', single axis rolling still requires a container the length of the 'chute' diameter and now needs to deploy and unroll in the flowstream, or be deployed exoatmospherically and survive entry), and does not have the existing flight heritage.

Its characteristic of slowly increasing drag on deployment rather than a short drag spike may make it useful as an alternative to hypersonic drogues and ballutes, where diameters are relatively small.

A question would be the failure behaviour: all the flexures are torqued in two axes, so what happens to the force distribution if a joint fails?

There may be some edge-cases where the stiff-but-slightly-flexible disc form factor may be a feature rather than a bug, e.g. make the whole surface a solar panel with embedded electronics, then huck them at a body with an atmosphere to act as disposable descent probes. Being stored as flat discs may make them easier to fit into an orbiter design than a pre-formed entry body.

[redneck]

I read your comment at lunch and had a thought. I loosely rolled a paper napkin one way and then coiled it into a fairly compact area. Don't know if that would apply here. If it does it seems passible to under 10% of deployed diameter. 

[Coastal Ron]

I think the intended payload will be able to survive with a relatively hard landing - think MRE's, ammo, packaged goods, etc. I would imagine that some inflatable padding could be added to the part of the payload that impacts the ground first.

One of the big issues with war planning for a conflict in the Pacific is supplying troops. This could provide a relatively low cost way to address part of that supply chain, and do it very tactically.

Not the solution for everything, but could be a solution for one category of items.

[Twark_Main]

I imagined this more an alternative to Zipline's wax paper parachutes used for blood & anti-venom deliveries. Because it's easy to automate the manufacturing this could be a cheaper alternative for small-size packages. The fact that it has a more predictable descent improves drop-zone accuracy.

Dropping small and soft packages is inherently safer, and this innovation could make it economical. This is a big deal because Zipline itself has moved to a (much more complex and indeed yet to be proven) "sky crane" to achieve better accuracy in windy conditions, and to lower the risk when operating in relatively uncontrolled residential areas vs rural medical facilities.