Modeling and Simulation of Parafoil Systems in Wind Fields

Parafoil systems are a kind of flexible wing vehicle. In view that the vehicle flying at low altitude is more susceptible to wind fields, and considering that the parafoil canopy and the payload are regarded as rigid connection, a six degrees of freedom (DOF) dynamic model is established according to the Kirchhoff motion equation, which consists of three DOF for translational motion and three DOF for rotational motion. Moreover, the effects of wind fields on its flight performances are also discussed. The motion characteristics of parafoil systems under the horizontal constant wind field are studied by numerical simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that the established model can accurately characterize dynamic performances of parafoil systems in wind fields, which is high valuable in engineering applications.