AIRBAGS

PAPER PRESENTATION ON
By:
PAVAN.H.S

What is an Air Bag?
Air Bag- a bag designed to inflate during a
collision to help stop the passenger while
doing as little damage to him or her as
possible.

The purpose of an air bag is to keep your
head, neck, and chest from slamming into
the dash, steering wheel or windshield in a
front end crash.
What Will Cause An Airbag to
Inflate?
An air bag will inflate
due to a force equal to
running into a wall at
10-15mph.
Three Main Parts of an Air Bag:
Bag
Sensor
Inflation System
The Bag
Made of thin, nylon fabric
It is folded into the steering
wheel/dashboard

Sensor
Tells the bag to inflate
It detects the collision force
Crash
Sensors
The Inflation System
The inflation of the Air Bag occurs when an
electric signal from the sensor triggers a chemical
reaction between Sodium Azide and Potassium
Nitrate which produces a hot nitrogen gas.

The Gas inflates the bag and burst out the steering
wheel or dashboard as it expands.

About 1-2 seconds later the bag deflates (due to
holes) in order to get out of your way.

Inflation
The bag bursts from the storage site at up to 200 mph, faster than the blink
of an eye.

Mechanism of action

Typical airbag deployment takes about
100 milliseconds
25ms sensors detect a collision,
Airbag begins to inflate
45ms airbag fully inflated
60ms occupant hits airbag
100ms occupant begins to deflate
airbag


Mechanism of action
Inflation is via a highly exothermic reaction
large volumes of hot gases (mostly nitrogen)
70 liters for US, 30 liters for
European/Australasian models
Variation due to seatbelt usage (USA 65-
70%, Aust. 95%)
Temperatures up to 700C (usually 200-
300C)
Inflation speed of up to 200 km/h

Mechanism of action
Timing is critical as the airbag
must be fully inflated by the
time the occupant contacts it.
Must not be still inflating at
time of contact
Vehicle speed and weight
dependent inflation

Deflation

Exhaust vents on the
rear of the airbag,
usually circular 30
70mm diameter.
Takes about 1 second
Velocities of the
exhaust gases 10
150m/s

Air Bag Facts:
Air Bags were first installed in the 1980s
Saved thousands of lives
They cannot smother you and they cannot restrict your
movement
Smoke that you may have seen in a vehicle after an air
bag demonstration is the non-toxic starch or talc that is
used to keep the inside of the air bag from sticking
together.
Air bags give you a 30% risk reduce of dying
Air bags are still only effective if you wear your seatbelt

Air Bag Safety
You should sit 10 inches away
form the steering wheel
The steering wheel should be
pointed towards your chest (not
head/neck) to prevent injury
Children under 12 years should
ride in the back seat because air
bags can seriously injure a
child.
If children under 12 must ride
in the front, you should have
the seat pushed as far back as
possible and they should have
the correct car seat.
Improvements
Air bags are still under
development
Air bags are now
sometimes inserted in the
seats, doors, and sides of
a vehicle to prevent
injury.
You can get an on/off
switch installed that
allow air bags to be
deactivated.

The End