3. Introduction
✓ A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an
object through an atmosphere by creating drag.
✓ Used primarily for safe descent from high altitudes
(e.g. a person or object dropped from an airplane),and
can also be used in horizontal configurations to slow
objects like race cars that have finished their runs.
✓ The principle of Parachutes are usually made out of
light, strong fabric, originally silk, now most commonly
nylon.
4. Principle
• The simple equipment works on the basic principle of 'air
resistance' and 'gravity’
• Parachute fabric have large surface area, made of a
lightweight and flexible fabric, creates an air drag, which
acts in opposition to the fall. The air molecules covered by
the large surface area of the fabric tend to move upwards
applying a reverse force to the force of gravity.
5. History
• The earliest fictional account of a parachute type of device was made some 4,000
years ago when the Chinese noticed that air resistance would slow a person's fall
from a height.
• The first recorded design for a parachute was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495.
• The modern parachute was invented in the late 18th century by Louis-Sebastien
Lenormand in France.
• In the late 1790s, Blanchard began making parachutes from folded silk, taking
advantage of silk's strength and light weight in 1797.
• Parachutes did not become standard equipment for military pilots until after World
War I.
• Parachutes were widely used during World War II, not only as life-saving devices
for pilots, but also for troop deployment.
6. Types of parachute
• There are two types of parachutes:
I. dome canopy: shape ranges from a
hemisphere to a cone
II. rectangular parafoil or ram-air canopy: it
is a series of tubular cells
7. Materials Used to
Make Parachutes
Canvas: The first choice for the parachute’s canopy. it
is a very heavy- plain-woven fabric.
Silk: Canvas was replaced by silk
• Advantage: lighter, stronger, thinner as well as fire
resistant and easy to fold and pack.
• Drawback: expensive, exposure to sunlight and
chemicals, tears, discolors and stains easily.
8. Cont…..
• Nylon: Nylon replaced silk during the WW2
• Advantage: excellent wind resistance, good
elasticity, exceptional strength, mildew
resistance, lightweight, resistant to abrasion
and also comparatively cheaper.
• Disadvantage: Sensitive to UV exposure, melts
at high temperatures
• Spectra: third-strongest parachute material; low
friction; commonly used for suspension lines; low
density.
• Disadvantage: Almost no fiber elongation, loses
tensile strength at temperatures over 200°F,
difficult to sew during parachute production.
9. Cont….
Kevlar: Very strong and durable; does not melt or burn
• Disadvantage: Very little fiber elongation, sensitive
to UV, difficult to manufacture
Zylon: Strongest parachute material; moderately low
friction
• Disadvantage: Low elongation; very vulnerable to all
spectrums of light
10. Components of parachute
• The five major parts of a standard
service parachute are: pilot chute, main
canopy, suspension lines, harness, and
pack(container).
1. Pilot chute: It is a small parachute. which
is used to deploy the main or reserve
parachute.
• They must exert enough force to
withdraw the main canopy from its
package.
• Requirement: shock resistance
• Fabric structure: plain woven fabric
11. Cont….
2. Main canopies: the primary
parachute assembly (the one
intended for use) for a
premeditated jump.
• Requirement: high-tensile
strength, optimal elasticity,
high resistance to air and
water proof.
• Fabric structure: woven
fabric
12. Cont.….
• The fibers used for making canopy are judged on its behavior
during Packing, Deployment and Descent.
1. During packing: the fabric able to permit air to rush in and
quickly inflate the envelope.
• Lower density of fibers can bring about significant
reduction in packed volume.
2. During deployment: Shock loading takes place, involves very
high speed or at a high strain-rate.
• fibers with high tenacity and adequate elongation with
sufficiently high melting point.
3. During descent: Air permeability is directly responsible for
rate of descent, opening load and stability.
• Rigidity of the material determine the time taken to
complete the fall.
13. Cont.…
3. Container: which is a backpack that holds the main chute
and the reserve chute. The container also includes thick
shoulder and leg straps that keep the container firmly
attached to the parachutist.
Requirement: water proof
14. Cont.…
3. Harness: Arrangement of straps that
connects the sky diver to the suspension lines
of the main and reserve canopies.
• Webbing(Comfortable, strength)
4. Suspension lines: consist of an outer
covering and several inner cords called the
core. The core provides the greater portion of
the strength of the suspension lines.
• Requirement: resistance to opening
shock.
15. What a parachute
must be
• The mass of fabric per unit of surface must be low.
• The axial breaking strength load must be high.
• The tear resistance of the fabric must be at
maximum.
• Has to be waterproof.
• Air permeability must be zero.
16. Properties of
Parachute Fabric
• Strength: fabric should possess a high resistance to
the continuation of a tear already started
• Tear Resistance: It is the resistance principally of
one yarn at a time to a rupture travelling crosswise
from yarn to yarn
• Elasticity: Parachute’s quick and positive opening,
depends largely on the ability of the layers of the
cloth to spring apart along the folds.
• Permeability: The porosity is largely determined by
the tightness of the fabric weave. any fabric that
has reasonably tight weave is suitable for this
perspective.
• Thermal stability, Rigidity, Abrasion resistance, UV
stabilization, Density.
17. Test Methods
• Tear Tests: A fabric tears when it is snagged by a
sharp object and the immediate small puncture is
converted into a long rip by what may be a very small
extra effort.
• Bursting Strength Tests: Bursting Strength is an
alternative method of measuring strength in which
the material is stressed in all directions at the same
time
• There are also fabrics which are simultaneously
stressed in all directions during service such as
parachute fabrics.
18. Cont…..
• Air Permeability Tests: Air
permeability is an important factor in
the performance of such textile
materials as gas filter, fabrics for air
bags, parachutes.
• Air permeability depends on
thickness, weight and porosity of
fabric
19. Summary
• A parachute is a device used to slow the
movement of a person or object as it through the
air.
• Parachute fabric have large surface area, made of
a lightweight and flexible fabric, creates an air
drag, which acts in opposition to the fall.
• the five major parts of a standard service
parachute, starting at the top and working down,
are the pilot chute, main canopy, suspension lines,
harness, and pack(container).
• in addition to the structural analysis of the cloth,
the properties measured are weight, breaking
strength, tear resistance, elasticity, and air
permeability.
20. Reference
• BESTEM, F. C. (2017). PARACHUTE FABRIC AND ITS MANUFACTURING PROCESS.
International Journal of Science, Environment and and Technology.
• Boomila, K. (2019). textile learner. Retrieved from textile learner:
https://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2013/07/properties-of-parachute-fabric-and-its.html
• Boomila, K. textile learner. (2019). textile learner. Retrieved from
https://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2013/07/properties-of-parachute-fabric-and-its.html
• Deng, Y. (2011). Ancient Chinese Inventions. Cambridge University Press.
• engineering 365. ( 2019). Retrieved from
https://www.globalspec.com/learnmore/specialized_industrial_products/transportation_prod
ucts/parachutes
• Integrated Publishing, Inc. - A (SDVOSB) Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.
(2013). htm. Retrieved December 19, 2019, from tpub: http://www.tpub.com/1ase2/2.htm
• Kaur, K. (2018, August 13 ). AZO materials. Retrieved from
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10429
• Lee, A. G. (1970). No parachute. Harper & Row.
• Lynn, W. (1968). The Invention of the Parachute". Technology and Culture.
• SALISTEAN, A. (2018). ANALYSIS OF MAIN CHARACTERISTICS . National Research and
Development Institute for Textile and Leather.
• Soden, G. (2005). Defying Gravity: Land Divers, Roller Coasters, Gravity Bums, and the Human
Obsession with Falling. Norton & Company .
• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. (2005). PARACHUTE RIGGER HANDBOOK.
