greatest drag to weight ratio?

[rocketsonly]

Hello. Does anyone know a parachute with the greatest drag to weight ratio? Or in other words, the most effcient parachute when comparing drag to weight.

Thanks.

 

[edwardw]

That mainly depends on the weight of the fabric and the shape. For shape, a semi-ellipsoidal parachute has the best drag with the amount of fabric. That type of chute made out of lightweight ripstop (.7 ounce) would be pretty light.

Edward

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by rocketsonly
Hello. Does anyone know a parachute with the greatest drag to weight ratio? Or in other words, the most effcient parachute when comparing drag to weight.

Thanks.

A couple folks to ask:

Park College Parachute Research Group
https://www.pcprg.com/

Paratech
https://www.paratech-parachutes.com/

Both have reference to science journal with their articles in them.

 

[Missileman]

Not sure which is best but check out the design of Rocket Rage chutes, they have a tremendous amount of drag to weight.
https://www.rocketrage.com/

 

[polaris]

From reading – Parachute Recovery Systems Design Manual T. W. Knacke, 1992 - I came away with this understanding.

It is easier to build a stable round parachute than any other shape. The goal becomes finding a circular shape that maximizes drag with the least material. The answer seems to be the quarter-spherical parachute.

Cutting gores for the quarter-spherical shape is a pain. So they searched for a good approximation. For sub-sonic parachutes, the triconical shape appears to be the best practical answer.

Other design factors such as reefing, venting, suspension line length, riser length, and skirting all impact parachute performance. So it looks to me like there is no single answer to the question.

But I sure have had a lot of fun trying things out.

 

[GL-P]

https://members.aol.com/ricnakk/paracon.html

nice shapes, there is a excel spreadsheet on his site (software section) on gore design.