Measurement of Force in Personnel Parachute Risers

he objective of this SBIR program is to design and demonstrate an unobtrusive sensor system that measures the strain and force transferred through parachute riser fabric during a paratrooper jump. This instrumentation will provide a means to measure and record the force experienced by the risers of static line and free fall personnel parachutes. It will increase parachute safety and reduce the time required to install instrumentation while not requiring modification of parachute systems. The ability of the sensor-integrated riser to measure instantaneous strain and force during simulated parachute drops was successfully demonstrated through multiple tests performed on NanoSonic’s drop station. This proposal summarizes our Phase I results, details our plans for sensor development and testing, and describes our plans for broader Metal Rubber strain sensor sales. During Phase I, NanoSonic accomplished the following: • Designed and fabricated Metal Rubber strain sensors • Integrated sensors onto parachute riser webbing material • Fabricated a 25’ drop test station to simulate paratrooper jumps • Demonstrated sensor performance at measuring strain during simulated paratrooper jumps • Developed a small electronic circuit to measure and record strain data • Demonstrated MHz system bandwidth and the ability to measure fast rise time strain events