80 Foot High Column of Fire

"Automation" - SpaceAnus

A conceptual art project, to be filmed for projection as part of an art installation, the film would be looped and would feature a large fire burst effect engulfing a children's 'A' frame swing.

The height requirement called for the use of High Explosive to vapurise the fuel and force it up to the required height. The effect was designed so that the fuel would be compressed and forced into the sky as the explosive detonated.

This was done by winding 18 meters of detonating cord around a cardboard drum and having four equally spaced detonation leaders to ensure that the drum was attacked equally from all sides at the same time. The detonation shock wave was fed in along these leaders so that the bottom of the drum collapsed first, a fraction of a second before the top; this was designed to cause the fuel to jet into the sky, attaining the height required. The bottom third of the drum was filled with water (in a plastic bag) to reduce the potential for fire as the effect was fired.

A number of small scale test were carried out with detonating cord wrapped around small cardboard tubes. These produced a number of different sized (10 - 20 feet high) and shaped fireballs and allowed us to identify the configuration that would best suit the required effect.

36 litre of fuel and 18 meters of detonating cord were used for a final full sized test and this achieved the rolling cloud of flame and managed to get burning fuel to a height in excess of 80 feet.