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Parachute Predicament

CSEF · 2019 Aerodynamics/ Hydrodynamics (Junior Division Only)

Hunter S. Paris · Willits Charter School, Willits, Mendocino County

Overview

Objectives The goal of my project is to attempt to solve the problem of which shape is best for parachutes. Methods The way that I tried to solve the problem was that I tried to make 12 different shapes--two of which have real-world equivalents--that I then dropped five times and timed to see which shape took the longest to reach the ground. I had to cut the shapes out of a sheet of nylon fabric, then I sewed the edges to keep them from falling apart, and then I had to sew strings into the edges so I could a attach weights to them. Results The results showed that the Dome had the third worst time (1.308 seconds) and was the worst overall. The three best for time were the Rectangle (bottom release), the Cone, and the Square (1.616, 1.608, and 1.598 seconds, respectively). Conclusions My project contributes information about the effectiveness of different shapes for parachutes. Overall, the Dome is the worst shape (in small scale, at least) and the Rectangle (bottom release), Cone, and Square parachutes were the best shapes (at least, in small scale).

Summary statement

My project tests how effective different shapes are for parachutes, and its goal is to find out which shape is best (the best is the slowest for its weight).

Help received

My grandmother cut out and sewed the parachutes, and she also dropped the parachutes off the roof of my house. My grandfather helped me figure out how to draw the net shape for the cone, and he verified that I did the calculations for the dimensions of the shapes correctly.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2019 Aerodynamics/ Hydrodynamics (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0118

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