Engineering with Air: Understanding Inflatable Technologies and their Applications
(Room Booth 2459)
02 Oct 19
3:00 PM
-
3:30 PM
Tracks:
Campfire: Shade and Weather Protection
Inflatable technologies go well beyond bounce houses and pool toys. In fact, most people rely on inflatables on their primary mode of daily transportation . . . the tires on your vehicle. Engineered inflatables have been reliably used in sheltering, space travel, industrial, and air drop applications. Still it is an approach that is often overlooked due to misconceptions of unreliable and inadequate strength and stiffness. During this session you will gain a better understanding of inflatables and when they might be the best solution. Attendees will leave with the knowledge to be able to recognize the different types of inflatables, understand the pros and cons of a variety of inflatable technologies, identify alternative (non-sheltering) applications for inflatables, both dynamic and static, explain different methods of analyzing inflatable structures and reach out to the companies to further investigate inflatable solutions.