For the touring museum (on a catamaran!) Art Explora Festival, Buitink Technology has technically developed the inflatable roof panels. In the usage phase, the inflatable roof panels will be subjected to a structural load (overpressure in the panels for rigidity and shape) as well as external loads, such as wind (suction).

During the development of the panels, several tests were carried out in-house to test the strength of materials and joints.

Among others, the following tests were carried out:

Strength of partition connection

An important connection in the inflatable panels are those of the partitions connecting the upper and lower layers. We researched and tested how to obtain the strongest connection that is easy to make. We looked at stitching, welding, a combination of these and also investigated which type of yarn and stitching structure gave the best results.

Based on the tests, the optimum configuration was chosen.

The tests were carried out on our tensile bench:

Pull bench

Pressure testing

When in use, the inflatable roof panels are connected to an air system, which keeps the entire roof at a pressure of around 150 mbar. Even though an air supply with pressure control remains connected, it is important that the roof panels are sufficiently airtight to prevent the air pump from switching on continuously and causing noise pollution due to air currents. The airtightness (the flow rate of air loss) of each panel was determined and recorded by us.

Weld test at 70 degrees

In line with the standard and the client's requirement, we also conducted tensile tests at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. We can also perform these tests at 70 degrees Celcius in-house.

The tests were carried out on our tensile testing machine:

Pull bench