3-D Parachute simulation by the immersed boundary method

We apply the immersed boundary (IB) method to the 3-D parachute problem, which involves an interaction between the flexible, elastic, parachute canopy and the high-speed airflow (relative to the parachute) through which the parachute falls. In order to take into account the effect of mass of both parachute and payload, the penalty immersed boundary (pIB) method is used. We construct a parachute model with a flexible fiber-reinforced canopy, a vent at the top, and a spherical payload, and we use the pIB method to study its initial inflation, terminal descent, and soft landing, as well as the interaction between two separate parachutes, and also the case of multiple parachute canopies supporting a single payload. The pIB method has the generality to cover all of these scenarios within a unified simulation framework.