Advances in exit simulations of airdrop configurations

This article explores recent advancements in the simulation of air drop configurations. Utilizing modeling and simulation techniques can enhance the understanding of airdrop operations before undertaking costly and risky experimental trials. Validated simulations also offer the opportunity to examine a wider range of non-standard cases, designs, systems, and components. Key physical and simulation parameters under investigation include various airdrop configurations, flow conditions, extraction and release timings, and ejector forces, all of which will be integrated with multiple parachute configurations and cargo payloads of differing geometries and mass distributions. The review covers advanced mesh generation techniques, turbulence modeling, adaptive mesh refinement methods, prescribed and responsive body motions, contact modeling, propeller and engine modeling, fluid–structure interaction for parachute inflation, and methods to study the stability of payloads and parachutes, including the modeling of suspension and extraction lines. The article details two specific studies: the extraction of various-sized containers from the C-17 ramp using gravity and chutes, and a sensitivity analysis of personnel extraction from the C-130 aircraft troop doors, considering variations in paratrooper profiles, center of gravity, and mass data.