A team of researchers rewritten the rules of the aerodynamics applied to the parachutes, inspired by the Kirigamithe ancient Japanese art of paper cutting. The result? A light, cheap and incredibly precise system capable of revolutionizing sectors such as humanitarian aid, rescue missions and even space exploration.
More stable and precise parachutes
Paracies are essential tools for survival in critical situations, but have an important limit: Once released, they are completely at the mercy of the windmaking precision launches extremely difficult. Now, however, a new solution comes from Polytechnique Montréal and from theÉcole Polytechnique French: exploit the principles of Kirigami to better control the descent.
Instead of changing the classic parachute canopy, the researchers opted for a radical approach. They used simple records of Mylara light plastic material, and subjected them to laser cuts According to three different Kigami patterns. Each of these discs, weighing 4.5 grams and equipped with a small central load, was released by a height of 1.8 meters to observe its behavior.
The results were surprising: while the discs without cuts or with too many concentric cuts behaved unstable, the model with a simple Kigami pattern it turned into a shape similar to an inverted bell and went down vertically, stable and precisely. David Mélançon, co-author of the study, commented on the project:
One of the main advantages is that the parachute stabilizes immediately and does not rotate, regardless of the release corner.
After identifying the most promising design, the team has subjected the new ones parachute Kirigami To an increasingly realistic series of tests: in the wind gallery, in the laboratory and with outdoor launches from drones. The results? Performance comparable to those of traditional parachutesbut with a surprising Best Precision of landing.
In a decisive experiment, the researchers compared three models: the unstable design A, the stable B one and a conventional parachute. Everyone was launched by a height of 16.6 meterswith different release angles (0 °, 45 ° and 90 °). Only the Design Bwith Pattern Kirigami, has landed Constantly and close to the targetwith the most of the launches within one meter from the center. This shows not only a reduction in drift, but also exceptional ballistic precision.
To verify the scalability of technology, a parachute by half a meter in diameterto which a bottle of water has been hooked. The system was launched by 60 meters via drone. Also in this case, the parachute has stabilized correctly, while maintaining a higher descent speed than traditional models.
An economic and versatile solution
According to the authors of the study, the most immediate application for this new technology concerns the humanitarian aidlike targeted delivery of water, food and medicines. THE parachute Kirigami are extremely cheap to produce: do not require complex seams or assemblies, but can be made with a simple laser cut or with a dummer on a plastic rollas Mélançon explains:
Our prototype is made with laser cutting, but the same effect is obtained with a spinning press. In addition, the parachute is seamless and connects to the load with a single suspension cable, making it simple to use and distribute.
But the perspectives go far beyond: researchers are already exploring New cutting geometrieselastic membranes that can increase aerodynamic resistance and, above all, asymmetrical design capable of planning the trajectory of the descent. The goal is to create smart parachutescapable of plating, rotating or varying the path depending on the weight transported, as Mélançon observes:
We want to change the patterns to obtain more complex trajectories: spirals, planate or differentiated descents to separate the loads during the fall. It is a new design paradigm that opens to unlimited possibilities.
