The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: Air bag standards

Ed Phillips (edphill@aol.com)
Fri, 9 Aug 1996 11:29:56 -0400 (EDT)

Well Mike the best response to your questions is probably it depends . Airbags are different sizes shapes and designs. They inflate at different rates and they vent gas through different sized and located ports. Generally however I think we can say a few things about them. The are fitted for the particular vehicle they are installed in based on where they are mounted and how much area they need to cover. A series of crash pulses are recorded and the data reduced to decided which pulse shapes and times are best to activate the airbag. This activation needs to be done quickly. Around 5 - 10 ms depending on their intent. (Side bags quicker than frontal bags). Generally a bag is inflated between 20 and 40 ms; the entire process takes about 100 ms they inflate at a speed of range of 140 mph to 200 mph; it's not really some particular speed that activates them but a signature pulse the computer looks for but barrier impacts in the 10-15 mph range activate them. Sometime
s lower sometimes higher depends on the crash pulse; the direction of force application depends on where the sensors are located and if they record that signature pulse. As to force I've seen some figures in the X thousand pounds but I think it is pretty variable - considering Newton 3. The future is changing to smart airbags various methods are suggested to have airbags decided when and how fast they should activate depending on the who's in front of them and what position that individual is in. I hope I've been of some assistance. I welcome any comments to help me further understand airbag technology.
Ed Phillips
edphill@aol.com

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