In-Situ Extraction of Modeling Parameters and Mechanics for Parachute Textiles Under Radial Stress with Micro-Tomography and Machine Learning

This study addresses the lack of experimental methods for extracting high-fidelity experimental data for benchmarking fluid structure interaction (FSI) models used in simulating parachutes for planetary landing systems. Results from in-situ micro-CT imaging of parachute textiles under loaded conditions using a 2D tensile tester and in-house analysis pipeline are presented. The focus of this work is on the MIL-C-7020H Type III parachute textile. The images are processed to track the locations and dimensions of individual tows within the scanned region. This allows for reconstruction and monitoring of the micro-scale properties of each tow, principle strains, and flow regime parameters influenced by pore size. Captured are both the 2D projected and 3D behaviors of the materials to meet the diverse and evolving needs of FSI simulation models.