Kirigami-inspired parachutes: Programming the reconfiguration of flexible disks

Avec Danick Lamoureux, Sophie Ramananarivo, David Mélançon et Frederick Gosselin

Project description

When subjected to incoming flow, a kirigami sheet can deform with large amplitude and affect the scaling of the drag with the flow velocity. This flow-induced reconfiguration is commonly found in nature, e.g., trees, leaves, and aquatic plants as well as in engineering applications, including draping disks, passive actuation, and energy harvesting. In this project, we focused on the closed-loop kirigami pattern and exploited its quasi-axisymmetric deformation under flow to program the aerodynamic stability of thin circular sheets. We built a meter-scale kirigami-inspired parachute and tested it in realistic conditions by dropping a water bottle from a drone. These kinds of parachutes could limit material losses during humanitarian airdropping, decrease manufacturing costs and complexity, and limit the risk to human life.

The kirigami-inspired parachute in action!
From left to right: Frederick Gosselin, Danick Lamoureux, David Mélançon
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