Testing a parachute for a Mars landing using a wind tunnel at hypersonic speed and Martian pressure?












3












$begingroup$


The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory (with the Curiosity rover) was tested in the NASA Ames Research Center 80 by 120 Foot Wind Tunnel.



enter image description here



The wind tunnel is currently capable of air speeds up to 100 knots (190 km/h; 120 mph). But how was the parachute tested with a speed and pressure similar to a real entry to Mars? Only by scaling speed and air viscosity or by using a smaller model parachute instead of the original size?



Picture and speed data from Wikipedia.










share|improve this question











$endgroup$

















    3












    $begingroup$


    The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory (with the Curiosity rover) was tested in the NASA Ames Research Center 80 by 120 Foot Wind Tunnel.



    enter image description here



    The wind tunnel is currently capable of air speeds up to 100 knots (190 km/h; 120 mph). But how was the parachute tested with a speed and pressure similar to a real entry to Mars? Only by scaling speed and air viscosity or by using a smaller model parachute instead of the original size?



    Picture and speed data from Wikipedia.










    share|improve this question











    $endgroup$















      3












      3








      3





      $begingroup$


      The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory (with the Curiosity rover) was tested in the NASA Ames Research Center 80 by 120 Foot Wind Tunnel.



      enter image description here



      The wind tunnel is currently capable of air speeds up to 100 knots (190 km/h; 120 mph). But how was the parachute tested with a speed and pressure similar to a real entry to Mars? Only by scaling speed and air viscosity or by using a smaller model parachute instead of the original size?



      Picture and speed data from Wikipedia.










      share|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory (with the Curiosity rover) was tested in the NASA Ames Research Center 80 by 120 Foot Wind Tunnel.



      enter image description here



      The wind tunnel is currently capable of air speeds up to 100 knots (190 km/h; 120 mph). But how was the parachute tested with a speed and pressure similar to a real entry to Mars? Only by scaling speed and air viscosity or by using a smaller model parachute instead of the original size?



      Picture and speed data from Wikipedia.







      testing parachute






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Jan 12 at 15:37









      Mark Adler

      48.9k3125207




      48.9k3125207










      asked Jan 12 at 11:57









      UweUwe

      10.2k22955




      10.2k22955






















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          5












          $begingroup$

          The full scale wind tunnel testing did not attempt to duplicate Martian conditions.



          The purpose of the full scale testing was to to




          provide an end to end test of the parachute system from
          mortar fire to parachute inflation.




          and




          initial inflation strength qualification




          Much more detail about subscale wind tunnel testing and other parachute tests can be found in the paper Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator Subsystem. A sample:




          a multi-phase delta qualification by analysis and subscale supersonic wind tunnel test program to address the fundamental
          physics of the supersonic operation of DGB parachutes as a
          function of Mach number , parachute size, and capsule wake
          interaction. The first phase is computational fluid dynamics
          (CFD) of a 2% scale rigid parachute canopy and capsule
          validated by a 2% scale wind tunnel test of the rigid
          configuration over the MSL Mach and Re number deployment
          range in the Ames 9x7 ft. unitary tunnel. Phase two is
          fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis of a flexible
          canopy with capsule validated by 5% scale wind tunnel tests
          over the MSL deployment Mach and Re range in the GRC
          10x 10 ft. unitary tunnel. The final phase is the
          application of the validated FSI tools to the prediction of
          the full scale para chute performance in Mars type deployment
          conditions providing predictions of supersonic drag
          performance, stability, and canopy loading.




          DGB = Disk Gap Band






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 12 at 18:25






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
            $endgroup$
            – whatsisname
            Jan 12 at 18:38










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 13 at 1:32










          • $begingroup$
            @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 13 at 12:34










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 14 at 9:40











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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes








          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          5












          $begingroup$

          The full scale wind tunnel testing did not attempt to duplicate Martian conditions.



          The purpose of the full scale testing was to to




          provide an end to end test of the parachute system from
          mortar fire to parachute inflation.




          and




          initial inflation strength qualification




          Much more detail about subscale wind tunnel testing and other parachute tests can be found in the paper Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator Subsystem. A sample:




          a multi-phase delta qualification by analysis and subscale supersonic wind tunnel test program to address the fundamental
          physics of the supersonic operation of DGB parachutes as a
          function of Mach number , parachute size, and capsule wake
          interaction. The first phase is computational fluid dynamics
          (CFD) of a 2% scale rigid parachute canopy and capsule
          validated by a 2% scale wind tunnel test of the rigid
          configuration over the MSL Mach and Re number deployment
          range in the Ames 9x7 ft. unitary tunnel. Phase two is
          fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis of a flexible
          canopy with capsule validated by 5% scale wind tunnel tests
          over the MSL deployment Mach and Re range in the GRC
          10x 10 ft. unitary tunnel. The final phase is the
          application of the validated FSI tools to the prediction of
          the full scale para chute performance in Mars type deployment
          conditions providing predictions of supersonic drag
          performance, stability, and canopy loading.




          DGB = Disk Gap Band






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 12 at 18:25






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
            $endgroup$
            – whatsisname
            Jan 12 at 18:38










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 13 at 1:32










          • $begingroup$
            @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 13 at 12:34










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 14 at 9:40
















          5












          $begingroup$

          The full scale wind tunnel testing did not attempt to duplicate Martian conditions.



          The purpose of the full scale testing was to to




          provide an end to end test of the parachute system from
          mortar fire to parachute inflation.




          and




          initial inflation strength qualification




          Much more detail about subscale wind tunnel testing and other parachute tests can be found in the paper Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator Subsystem. A sample:




          a multi-phase delta qualification by analysis and subscale supersonic wind tunnel test program to address the fundamental
          physics of the supersonic operation of DGB parachutes as a
          function of Mach number , parachute size, and capsule wake
          interaction. The first phase is computational fluid dynamics
          (CFD) of a 2% scale rigid parachute canopy and capsule
          validated by a 2% scale wind tunnel test of the rigid
          configuration over the MSL Mach and Re number deployment
          range in the Ames 9x7 ft. unitary tunnel. Phase two is
          fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis of a flexible
          canopy with capsule validated by 5% scale wind tunnel tests
          over the MSL deployment Mach and Re range in the GRC
          10x 10 ft. unitary tunnel. The final phase is the
          application of the validated FSI tools to the prediction of
          the full scale para chute performance in Mars type deployment
          conditions providing predictions of supersonic drag
          performance, stability, and canopy loading.




          DGB = Disk Gap Band






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 12 at 18:25






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
            $endgroup$
            – whatsisname
            Jan 12 at 18:38










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 13 at 1:32










          • $begingroup$
            @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 13 at 12:34










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 14 at 9:40














          5












          5








          5





          $begingroup$

          The full scale wind tunnel testing did not attempt to duplicate Martian conditions.



          The purpose of the full scale testing was to to




          provide an end to end test of the parachute system from
          mortar fire to parachute inflation.




          and




          initial inflation strength qualification




          Much more detail about subscale wind tunnel testing and other parachute tests can be found in the paper Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator Subsystem. A sample:




          a multi-phase delta qualification by analysis and subscale supersonic wind tunnel test program to address the fundamental
          physics of the supersonic operation of DGB parachutes as a
          function of Mach number , parachute size, and capsule wake
          interaction. The first phase is computational fluid dynamics
          (CFD) of a 2% scale rigid parachute canopy and capsule
          validated by a 2% scale wind tunnel test of the rigid
          configuration over the MSL Mach and Re number deployment
          range in the Ames 9x7 ft. unitary tunnel. Phase two is
          fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis of a flexible
          canopy with capsule validated by 5% scale wind tunnel tests
          over the MSL deployment Mach and Re range in the GRC
          10x 10 ft. unitary tunnel. The final phase is the
          application of the validated FSI tools to the prediction of
          the full scale para chute performance in Mars type deployment
          conditions providing predictions of supersonic drag
          performance, stability, and canopy loading.




          DGB = Disk Gap Band






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$



          The full scale wind tunnel testing did not attempt to duplicate Martian conditions.



          The purpose of the full scale testing was to to




          provide an end to end test of the parachute system from
          mortar fire to parachute inflation.




          and




          initial inflation strength qualification




          Much more detail about subscale wind tunnel testing and other parachute tests can be found in the paper Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Parachute Decelerator Subsystem. A sample:




          a multi-phase delta qualification by analysis and subscale supersonic wind tunnel test program to address the fundamental
          physics of the supersonic operation of DGB parachutes as a
          function of Mach number , parachute size, and capsule wake
          interaction. The first phase is computational fluid dynamics
          (CFD) of a 2% scale rigid parachute canopy and capsule
          validated by a 2% scale wind tunnel test of the rigid
          configuration over the MSL Mach and Re number deployment
          range in the Ames 9x7 ft. unitary tunnel. Phase two is
          fluid structure interaction (FSI) analysis of a flexible
          canopy with capsule validated by 5% scale wind tunnel tests
          over the MSL deployment Mach and Re range in the GRC
          10x 10 ft. unitary tunnel. The final phase is the
          application of the validated FSI tools to the prediction of
          the full scale para chute performance in Mars type deployment
          conditions providing predictions of supersonic drag
          performance, stability, and canopy loading.




          DGB = Disk Gap Band







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Jan 12 at 14:15

























          answered Jan 12 at 14:10









          Organic MarbleOrganic Marble

          55.7k3150239




          55.7k3150239












          • $begingroup$
            Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 12 at 18:25






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
            $endgroup$
            – whatsisname
            Jan 12 at 18:38










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 13 at 1:32










          • $begingroup$
            @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 13 at 12:34










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 14 at 9:40


















          • $begingroup$
            Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 12 at 18:25






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
            $endgroup$
            – whatsisname
            Jan 12 at 18:38










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 13 at 1:32










          • $begingroup$
            @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
            $endgroup$
            – Uwe
            Jan 13 at 12:34










          • $begingroup$
            @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
            $endgroup$
            – GremlinWranger
            Jan 14 at 9:40
















          $begingroup$
          Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Jan 12 at 18:25




          $begingroup$
          Is it possible to achieve the same forces to the parachute at high speed and very low pressure (marsian conditions) and low speed and a pressure of about 1 bar (conditions in the wind tunnel)?
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Jan 12 at 18:25




          1




          1




          $begingroup$
          @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
          $endgroup$
          – whatsisname
          Jan 12 at 18:38




          $begingroup$
          @Uwe: if you had unlimited budget, a lot of things are "possible". The parachute engineers did what they judged to be the most practical given their engineering and budgetary constraints.
          $endgroup$
          – whatsisname
          Jan 12 at 18:38












          $begingroup$
          @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
          $endgroup$
          – GremlinWranger
          Jan 13 at 1:32




          $begingroup$
          @Uwe, some of the historical NASA wind tunnels were sealed to allow operation at a range of pressures to compensate for scale effects, so supersonic and pressure adjusted tunnels exist but have not found a users guide or similar listing the current tunnels and capabilities.
          $endgroup$
          – GremlinWranger
          Jan 13 at 1:32












          $begingroup$
          @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Jan 13 at 12:34




          $begingroup$
          @GremlinWranger But the photo I used in the question does not like a sealed wind tunnel that may be used at a pressure much smaller or greater than ambient pressure. The wall shown would not resist the forces of a larger pressure difference.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Jan 13 at 12:34












          $begingroup$
          @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
          $endgroup$
          – GremlinWranger
          Jan 14 at 9:40




          $begingroup$
          @Uwe, not my field but agree, presence of humans suggest this is at earth pressures and relatively low speeds, but done because it is the best achievable test of the flight hardware with technology available to NASA per Organic Marble's answer. The inability to fully test is mentioned as a major risk for Insight in the quote here space.stackexchange.com/questions/32262/…. Possible complication with closed tunnels for this specific test is that deployment probably produces a bunch of debris that risks damage a closed tunnel fan system.
          $endgroup$
          – GremlinWranger
          Jan 14 at 9:40


















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