What forces act on slider?

[CoolBeans 11]

I would imagine canopy manufacturers know very well what kind of forces act on slider during the deployment. Would you know if there's any publicly available research or publications about that? Approximately, how big is the force pulling slider down during canopy inflation?

[Quagmirian 40]

Ask Gary Peek. This is his area

https://www.pcprg.com/

[pchapman 279]

Gary unfortunately passed away last year (https://www.dropzone.com/forums/topic/266644-gary-peek/ ) but the Parks College group have done a lot of study of canopy openings, both from the practical in-flight side and on the theoretical side - eg published conference papers on the subject. 

[20kN 93]

17 hours ago, CoolBeans said:

I would imagine canopy manufacturers know very well what kind of forces act on slider during the deployment.

I think you overestimate the engineering in a parachute. Parachutes arnt exactly modern marvels of scientific genus. There are a few fun jumpers in the USA who actually make and jump their own canopies which they have made in the basement of their houses. Yes, manufacturers have tested their canopies many times; however, the exact values presented to any portion of a canopy are infinitely variable and change continuously across the entire inflation process. You could do 20,000 jumps on a canopy and every opening would be different from a physics standpoint. Parachute design is more of a 'that's close enough' process rather than an exact science. The fact that hard openings continue to cause deaths every year across a wide range of canopies with completely unexplained circumstances attests to the fact that we havent exactly dialed in the science in proper design yet.

Edited August 27, 2020 by 20kN

[riggerrob 643]

Sliders are forced down by the canopy inflating and spreading lines wider.

Cascaded lines help add - a little - spreading force early in the inflation process.

[CoolBeans 11]

Would you know how much actual force is pushing down vs how much is pushing up?