Fluid-structure interaction study of the supersonic parachute using large-eddy simulation

Purpose The purpose of this study is to model the dynamic characteristics of an opened supersonic disk-gap-band parachute. Design/methodology/approach A fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method with body-fitted mesh is used to simulate the supersonic parachute. The compressible flow is modeled using large-eddy simulation (LES). A contact algorithm based on the penalty function with a virtual contact domain is proposed to solve the negative volume problem of the body-fitted mesh. Automatic unstructured mesh generation and automatic mesh moving schemes are used to handle complex deformations of the canopy. Findings The opened disk-gap-band parachute is simulated using Mach 2.0, and the simulation results fit well with the wind tunnel test data. It is found that the LES model can successfully predict large-scale turbulent vortex in the flow. This study also demonstrates the capability of the present FSI method as a tool to predict shock oscillation and breathing phenomenon of the canopy. Originality/value The contact algorithm based on the penalty function with a virtual contact domain is proposed for the first time. This methodology can be used to solve the negative volume problem of the dynamic mesh in the flow field.