the_non_categorized_inflatables [the libarynth]

Chinese farmers near the Zhongyuan oil fields in China's Henan province carry back to their homes giant plastic bags filled with natural gass stolen from wells along the road. They use the gas for cooking and heating, causing annual losses of more than 20 million yuan (5 million guilders) to the oil companies.
source:“Lightness” - The inevitable renaissance of minimum energy structures, Adriaan Beukers - Ed van Hinte
source: http://www.lightness-studios.nl/ and http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2005/09/02/reckless-oil-and-gas-theft-running-rampant-in-chin

-Air Cushions, The Urban Search and Rescue team uses these for lifting immensely heavy objects. When deflated, the bags can be inserted under objects, even when there is very little room available. Once inserted, the bag is filled with air via the attached connection and hose which are clearly visible in the photos above. As the bag fills it lifts the load on top of it. source: http://www.buitink-technology.com/

Did you ever see a huge rubber to protect the land from flooding? Get to the Netherlands, near Ramspol (the Netherlands, IJsseldelta). Dutch waterengineers created this inflatable dike near the N50, between Ketelmeer and Zwarte meer. They are of course masters in dike building! The moment a storm comes up, you get to see the inflatable dike in action. It's a good reason to hope for bad weather. source picture: IJsseldelta

A device called “tunnel plug” will be used in subway system in New York City, to help halt the rising tides, floods and gas, from hurricanes like Sandy. This giant inflatable plug could protect NYC subways from flooding The MTA is looking into using the Resilient Tunnel Plug, a massive capsule that blows up to hold back water.http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/this-giant-inflatable-plug-could-protect-nyc-subways-from-flooding

Powermoon is a balloon-based lighting system suitable for road & railway infrastructure, outdoor events, entertainment, military, and search & rescue applications. Powermoon is packaged in a small, portable unit which may be quickly assembled on-site. Powermoon comes with a collapsible balloon and stand, a generator, an IP 67 control gear box, and a carrying case.It does not require an inflation fan and is therefore noise-free and lower in cost compared with other balloon-based lighting systems.
source: http://www.antidazzlelighting.co.uk/ http://www.powermoon.de

-Floating bridge over the Ganges
“Ramnagar fort is on the Ganga’s east bank, and we live on the west. We crossed the river on foot across the recently completed pontoon bridge, constructed of a series of planks on top of large floating tanks. The bridge creates a bit of a bouncing and swaying sensation as you cross, and the bicycles and motorbikes sharing the bridge made the crossing a bit nerve wracking, but it was really quite beautiful to be able to stand out in the middle of the river and look out at the city curving away along its western bank. Crossing back in the early evening, we got to see, for the first time, the sun setting over the Ganga.”
source: emilindia.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=200…

-Lanselevillard, France. -Temporary Bridge for heavy load Project Span: 30 m Load: 500 kN Weight: 10'000 Kg Current Status - Design phase
Airlight is among specialized in lightweight and large span structures: Tensairity. What is the difference between Tensairity and existing pneumatic structures? The innovative Tensairity-concept and the fact that air pressure is totally independent of the span and slenderness of the constituting elements. In other words: Tensairity allows the construction of very light roof structures with extremely long span. The load bearing capacity of Tensairity is so high that with a pressure of 200 mbar it is already possible to build temporary bridges even suitable for heavy transports. Compared with traditional airbeams, Tensairity needs just 1% of air pressure. With such low pressure, air losses are easily compensated. Many other fields of application are possible: floating structures, sport equipment, airships and even aerospace applications.
source:http://www.airlight.biz

The meeting of bionics with pneumatics is found again and again in the new ideas for using air in the Bionic Learning Network. The hovercraft is a perfect example of highly precise manoeuvring over land and water.
The mode of operation of the thrust control system developed by students of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences is reminiscent of the guidance principle of a tracked vehicle. The air produced by the propeller is split into two channels. Each of these channels has a pair of flaps that behave like the thrust-reversing system of a turbo-drive and are able to steplessly adjust the portion of the air discharged backward or forward. Braking manoeuvres and reverse travel are therefore possible without difficulty.
source: http://www.festo.com/