Quote:
Originally Posted by markweatherill
I just imagined a package mounted at the rear of a car, like a deflated and rolled up air mattress in construction. It's attached to the tailpipe, with its own ventilation outlet(s) so the gases will pass through it.
You start the vehicle, it begins to inflate into shape and stays up while the engine is running. Now, when you switch off the engine, it deflates and by some clever elastic cord arrangement, more or less folds or rolls itself back up.
It must have valves to relieve excess internal pressure, it must drain any condensation, and must be proof against corrosion.
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Here is the original concept from the 1930s
The envelopes ARE subject to aeroelastic forces.I had to include a rigid lower brace to combat Karman Vortex Street oscillations
A dedicated rigid lower structure stiffens the envelope and also fixes the diffuser angle
