Effect on parafoil aerodynamic performance of leading edge

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional steady flow field of parafoils with profile based on Clark-Y and with different leading edges and arc-anhedral angles were numerically simulated without considering the impact of flexibility, so as to study the effect of leading edge and arc-anhedral angle on parafoil aerodynamic performance. Results show that while enhancing the glide performance, the leading edge cut leads to the decrease of lift coefficient and increase of drag coefficient, and the reduction of lift coefficient gets more severe with the increase of cut size; the lip located in leading edge cut can effectively reduces the profile drag of parafoil; the lift reduction of parafoil increases as the value of arc-anhedral angle gets larger; in addition, this modified LLT (lift line theory) model exhibits high accuracy within the range of small and median angles of attack.