Braking of a Body by a Soft Inflatable Shell on Impact on a Surface

Abstract

The results of mathematical simulation of a solid velocity damping by a soft skeleton fabric shell filled with air on impact on a hard surface are given. The equations of motion of a falling body and of the loading dynamics of membrane shells and the reinforcement rings in the fabric shell are considered together. Themathematical model and the numerical algorithm for solving the spatial problem of the dynamics of inflation of a shell with reinforcement rings are explicitly realized by the finite difference method. The boundary conditions are posed with regard to the contact of the shell elements in compression near the ring belts. The results of numerical experiments considering the interaction of the falling body with the deformable skeleton shell are discussed. The parameters influencing the process of the body braking on impact on a surface are determined.