The deformation and stresses in a parachute canopy are analyzed, using an
axisymmetric model. The canopy is modeled as an ideal or nearly ideal elastic
membrane shell. Steady state is assumed. No restriction is imposed on the size of the
deformation, and thus the problem is strongly nonlinear. Wrinkles which form over
parts of the surface are taken into consideration approximately via the use of wrinkle
fields (tension fields). The solution is obtained by a double-iteration numerical
procedure, based on a shooting technique and incremental loading. First a basic
parachute model is considered in which the material is assumed isotropic and
Hookean, the pressure distribution is assumed uniform (but with unknown
magnitude), and the canopy is assumed to have a small central hole. Later all these
assumptions are relaxed. Numerical examples are presented for some representative
cases.