Inflatable bonfire combines the popular technologies of bouncy castles and hot air balloons to give portable instant re-usable conflagration fun.
The equipment stows into the back of an anonymous white van allowing quick delivery to the location of choice.
Erection comprises 1. a folding base unit, a framework of steel arms which support the structure on the ground,with attachment points for the envelope and with integral piping to the blowback-proof gas nozzles. 2. The envelope, being made from fireproof fabric, reinforced with steel or other high tensile fireproof filaments. The envelope is double-walled so that only a small volume of gas is required to inflate it. It is sealed at the bottom and attaches to the base unit. Up the sides and around the top is a series of open-and-closeable vent holes which are fitted with ignition units, which are wired within the fabric down to connectors on the base unit. There are also blow-out panels all around the top in case of uncontrolled burning of the gas within the envelope. 3. the gas supply, this is connected to the connectors on the base unit.
To deploy: the base unit is carried out of the van and is unfolded on the bonfire site. The gas lines are attached. Then the envelope is attached to the base unite and is sealed firmly around the gas nozzle(s). The blowout panels and the vents are all closed, and then the envelope is inflated with gas.
Everyone crowds around and admires the towering edifice.
At the appropriate time, the vents are tugged open and the ignition units are fired. At the same time more gas can be fed into the base unit to main inflation.
The bonfire ends either by cutting the gas supply and allowing it to gradually deflate while the flames from the vents gradually subside, or alternatively if the fire blows back to the gas within the envelope, in a spectacular explosion as the fireball rushes upwards out of the blowout panels.
After everything has cooled, the envelope is rolle dup, and the base unit is re-folded and stacked back in the van, ready to drive to the next fire site.-- pocmloc, Jul 10 2021 An early test firing https://www.bbc.co....rn-ireland-57789843Requires adjustments to the reinforcing cables within the envelope to give better directional stability. [pocmloc, Jul 11 2021] Thermobaric Weapon https://en.wikipedi.../Thermobaric_weaponAlso known as “fuel-air explosive” [Frankx, Jul 15 2021] Bonfire ^_^-- Voice, Jul 11 2021 These vent holes, do they open on to the outside of the double- walled envelope, or on to the inside, or both?
And should we imagine rings of blue flames like the ones from a burner on a gas job, or were you hoping to blend them into a single monstrous jet of flame, or some other pattern?-- pertinax, Jul 11 2021 I would say extensive field testing would be required to finesse the design.-- pocmloc, Jul 11 2021 You would certainly want an extensive field.-- pertinax, Jul 12 2021 Part of the point of the portable design is that it can be quickly and conveniently installed on small plots in residential areas.-- pocmloc, Jul 12 2021 <channelling the Borg> Is this just an elaborate respelling of the word "Hindenburg"? Only without commentators waxing lyrical on the humanity of the situation.-- zen_tom, Jul 12 2021 Excellent!
“considerably more destructive when used against field fortifications such as foxholes, tunnels, bunkers, and caves—partly due to the sustained blast wave”
Yes, very good [+]
[link]-- Frankx, Jul 15 2021 Hmm. Could it be combined with a bouncy castle? I see that working well.-- Frankx, Jul 16 2021 random, halfbakery