septic wrote:
Hmm, 'current' science changes so rapidly that, I very much think comparing real life [now] to future design, is to compare apples and oranges; exponentially so when dealing with science fiction.
Personally I don't think there's a good reason to have ducting big enough for people. The internal volume of a space craft/station/etc, is for the most part, going to be at such a premium that massive ducting is a gross waste of space [no pun intended]. Specialised robots could/would be used for cleaning & maintenance, especially given the dust/irritants/etc.
And as cool as iris doors look, they're grossly over-engineered for 'people' doors, and only really make sense for things like ducting (possibly liquid piping too?) were you might want to regulate flow ... fans/impellers are a much simpler and easier option for this, however.
All that kill-joyously said, [not my intention, btw], it's fiction, and as such, it's not uncommon for design choices to be more about plot needs [/sh*t that looks cool], than actual practical design.
The iris design is over engineered. It is however a very low profile closure mechanism. As in it does not need more than a few extra inches in an opening to be stored when not engaged. It does have a place. Space is a premium item in interstellar craft. The mechanics are actually rather simple, but the movement, that is the genius. But I would go with an 11 leaf design so there can be a reference in the center to the Aether and point to base-12 mathematics. Gieger and Ridley were really ahead of their times with the set dressings that they went with.
I was looking at a dual purpose, have an air duct, die hard on one end, alien on the other. But more importantly designed properly it can be a compact item to transport. But I was running math and science and I will need to get with a local HVAC company and see what other options I can have as I was looking at 1/8" plate steel with l channel corners. It is all about math. The more I dig into the life like props, the more it comes back to that.
Also remember the air duct was to be a scalable design for a 23 foot stargate I want to eventually build. This little prop is to toy with the possibility to scale it up. At that point I will have to use a trailer.
I am running out of space in my truck so I have to be very careful in how I build tings to pack for load outs. I am also trying to switch over entirely to aliens/predator universe costumes only. Trying to switch to smaller more transportable items.
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