How airbags work

1. When a car hits something, it starts to decelerate (lose speed) very rapidly.
2. An accelerometer (electronic chip that measures acceleration or force) detects the change of
speed.
3. If the deceleration is great enough, the accelerometer triggers the airbag circuit. Normal
braking doesn't generate enough force to do this.
4. The airbag circuit passes an electric current through a heating element (a bit like one of the
wires in a toaster).
5. The heating element ignites a chemical explosive. Older airbags used sodium azide as their
explosive; newer ones use different chemicals.
6. As the explosive burns, it generates a massive amount of harmless gas (typically either
nitrogen or argon) that floods into a nylon bag packed behind the steering wheel.
7. As the bag expands, it blows the plastic cover off the steering wheel and inflates in front of
the driver. The bag is coated with a chalky substance such as talcum powder to help it unwrap
smoothly.
8. The driver (moving forward because of the impact) pushes against the bag. This makes the
bag deflate as the gas it contains escapes through small holes around its edges. By the time the
car stops, the bag should have completely deflated.

Vehicle Body Safety Considerations

2. • Designer should ensure maximum safety of the driver, passenger, and other road users •
Vehicle should be designed to reduce the effects of collision and ensure minimum injury •
Stylists should avoid sharp ornaments, edges and projected elements. Careful attention to door
handles, mirrors, hooks, control knobs etc. reduces injury to pedestrians and also affects in
reduction of aerodynamic drag & noise.

3. • Vehicle Body Structure, its Systems & Parts • Additional Safety Features & Systems •
General & other safety recommendations

4. • Vehicle Body Structure, its Systems & Parts Basis of body design for safety features of
Door system Window Glasses & Windscreen Bumpers Seat back & head restraints Rear view
mirrors Ventilation

5. • Basis of body design for safety - The design of vehicle body for optimum characteristics
should be based on basic energy relationship - The kinetic energy of a vehicle destroyed during a
collision is absorbed by the work done on materials by elastic deformation
 6. Safety Consideration Basis of body design for safety The kinetic energy of a vehicle
destroyed during a collision can be expressed as K.E = ( m - ∇m ) V2 / 2 where ; m = total mass
of vehicle ∇m = moveable mass(passenger or load) V = Velocity

7. Safety Consideration Workdone on materials by elastic deformation is ∫ Pds = (σ2 / 2E) A L

where; P = force generated during collusion on vehicle structure S = distance traveled during the
collision E = Young’s modulus, Stress/Strain A = cross sectional area of the structure σ = local
stress in the material L = deformation in cm

8 • Safety Features of Door System - Photo - electric beam door closes automatically at pre -
determined time - Gear shift lock prevent selection of gear until all exit doors are closed -
Electrically sensitive edge on exist door causes automatic opening if obstruction is encountered -
Pneumatic - sensitive - edges give audible and visual warning to the driver of door obstruction

9. • Safety Features of Door System - Transmission interlock prevent opening of doors whilst
vehicle is in motion • Window Glasses - Shatter proof glass should be used. When hit against
any object the whole glass falls out and there will be no sharp edged pieces

10. • Window Glasses - In bullet proof glass when hit there will be no normal angle of incident
(inclination). The bullet is thrown out as there will always be some angle of incident. •
Reliability / Safety Requirements Windscreen - Freedom from faults which interfere with vision

11. • Reliability / Safety Requirements Windscreen - High transparency & freedom from
visual distortion - External durability to reduce surface degradation & scoring from wipers, ice
scrapers, road grit, etc. - Vision not affected by normal road stone impacts

12. • Reliability / Safety Requirements Windscreen - Retention of impacting occupant with

low deceleration to avoid brain damage - Fragment formation should not expose the face & head
to risk of severe laceration. • Bumper - Shock absorbers behind the bumpers may be used. In
some designs semi - circular

13. • Bumper shape is adapted. This avoids direct collision and tilt of the vehicle. - Bumper
design & height should be such that in case of accident it hits passenger below the knee. In this
case the passenger will fall on to the vehicle otherwise on road which would be more dangerous.

14. • Seat - Back & Head Restraints - Seat-backs should be in an upright position to get
maximum protection from the seat belts - In reclined seat-back position the risk of sliding under
the seat belt increases in a severe crash. - The front head restraints help from whiplash and other
injures.

15. • Seat - Back & Head Restraints - For most effectiveness, the Head Restraint should be
adjusted such that the top of the restraint is even with the top of the ears as shown

16. • Ventilation - Proper air vents directed towards the windscreen, side windows,passenger
compartment, front and rear passenger foot walls should be provided. • Rear View Mirror -
Inside rear view mirror can be adjusted up, down or sideways to obtain the best view. Always
adjust the mirror set to day positions
 17. • Rear View Mirror - Outside rear view mirror can be folded flat against the side of the
vehicle and can be inclined at an angle to position it properly. The size or distance of a vehicle or
object seen in an outside convex mirror look smaller and appear farther away as compared to a
flat mirror.

18. Safety Features Of Vehicles can be grouped as : • Additional Safety Features & Systems
ABS braking system Seat belts Air bags Flashers & horns Child safety

19. • ABS braking system - The ABS braking system prevents the wheels from locking when
braking - It makes the best road grip and provides safest control during emergency braking under
difficult road conditions. - The driver can feel as ABS comes into play when the brake pedal
pulsates slightly and the system gets noisier.

20. • ABS braking system - This indicates that the ABS is working and vehicle is travelling at
the limit of the road grip, and the vehicle speed should be changed to fit the type of road surface.
- The ABS is in addition, if failure occurs the basic braking system continue to work. - The
advantage of the system is to give maximum maneuverability by preventing the

21 • ABS braking system the wheels from locking. - The light on the dash board warns driver to
reduce speed.

22. • Seat Belts - Need & Requirements : Inside a moving car, if car suddenly stops, the
occupant get hurled forward as the car has decelerated or stopped due to impact but occupant
keep moving at about same speed as the car at the time of impact. So the body, particularly the
head & chest smash into whatever is in front;windscreen,dash board, steering wheel

23. • Seat Belts Sometimes the occupant can be thrown out of the car through windscreen or
opened door. It is not only the front seat passengers who are at risk but also the back seat
passengers. Seat Belts restrain occupant & holds back to the seat - preventing from hitting any
hard structure in the car

24 • Seat Belts - Construction : Seat belt comprise of a lap band and shoulder band held in
place by single buckle, and bolts fastened to the car body. - Types: Seat belts are of two types ;
non- retracting and automatic-retraction. First type do not adjust to wearer’s movement & not
convenient. The second type allows to

25. • Seat Belts move around freely. It has mechanism that restrains the occupant when car
hits or stops suddenly. - Precautions to be observed: Seat belts are designed to bear upon the
bony structure of the body, and should be worn low across the front of the pelvis, chest, and
shoulders. Seat belts should be adjusted as firmly as

26 • Seat Belts possible. Belt should not be worn with straps twisted. It is dangerous to put belt
around a child being carried on the occupant’s lap. • Working of the Seat Belt System: -
Lap/Shoulder Belt has a single belt that goes over the shoulder, across chest, and across pelvis as
shown in figure.
 27 .Safety Consideration Additional Safety Features & Systems - In normal driving, the belt
fitted with a locking retractor allows occupant move freely in the seat while keeps tension on the
belt. During a collision or sudden stop the retractor automatically locks the belt to help

28. Safety Consideration restrain body. - Before putting on the seat belt move seat as far back
as possible, seat back to be up upright and there should be no twists in the belt. • Air Bag -Air
bag is a safety device that protects the driver & the front seat passenger during head-on collision
- Air bag is an instantly inflatable cushion stored in the center pad of steering wheel and in the
dash board on passenger side

29. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration Additional Safety Features &
Systems - In case of a collision of magnitude exceeding the set value, the sensor activates the
mechanism and cushion inflates instantly to act as a soft protecting barrier

30. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration Additional Safety Features &
Systems - Air bag inflates with considerable force & speed (with in milliseconds). After inflating
completely it deflates immediately not to interfere with driver’s visibility or ability to steer and
operate controls. - When air bag inflates, an operating noise may be heard and a small amount of
smoke-like gas or dust is released which is harmless. - Air bag system will not be triggered in the
event of rear or side impacts, rollovers or minor frontal collisions. It is triggered only once &
then replaced.

31. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration Additional Safety Features &
Systems • Hertomatic Flashers and Horn (beep noise) operate for every one minute, if not
attended then ultimately the ignition will be automatically switched off. • Child Safety - Infants
and young children should always be properly restrained whenever they ride in a car as shown

32. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration Additional Safety Features &
Systems Children should ride in rear seat and not in lap of adults. Place the child restraint in the
seat with a lap/ shoulder belt through the restraint (infants& toddler seat ). Use child proof door
locks

33. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration • General & other safety
recommendations There should be no loose items inside vehicle which could be thrown around
and may hurt during accident or sudden braking / stops Luggage should be securely stored or tied
downed Seats should be upright, head restrain adjusted, & seat belts fastened Vehicle operation
control should not be obstructed First-Aid kits should be available

34. Vehicle Body Engineering Body & Safety Consideration • General & other safety
recommendations Driver should not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs Ensure all doors
are properly closed Ensure buckling up of children and child constraint system is properly
installed
What about the Gas Used to Fill the Airbag?

Chemical Reactions Used to Generate the Gas

Inside the airbag is a gas generator containing a mixture of NaN3, KNO3, and SiO2. When
the car undergoes a head-on collision, a series of three chemical reactions inside the gas
generator produce gas (N2) to fill the airbag and convert NaN3, which is highly toxic (The
maximum concentration of NaN3 allowed in the workplace is 0.2 mg/m3 air.), to harmless glass.
Sodium azide (NaN3) can decompose at 300oC to produce sodium metal (Na) and nitrogen gas
(N2). The signal from the deceleration sensor ignites the gas-generator mixture by an electrical
impulse, creating the high-temperature condition necessary for NaN3 to decompose. The nitrogen
gas that is generated then fills the airbag. The purpose of the KNO3 and SiO2 is to remove the
sodium metal (which is highly reactive and potentially explosive, as you recall from the Periodic
Properties Experiment) by converting it to a harmless material. First, the sodium reacts with
potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce potassium oxide (K2O), sodium oxide (Na2O), and
additional N2 gas. The N2 generated in this second reaction also fills the airbag, and the metal
oxides react with silicon dioxide (SiO2) in a final reaction to produce silicate glass, which is
harmless and stable. (First-period metal oxides, such as Na2O and K2O, are highly reactive, so it
would be unsafe to allow them to be the end product of the airbag detonation.)

Gas-Generator Reaction Reactants Products

Initial Reaction Triggered by NaN3 Na
Sensor. N2 (g)
Second Reaction. Na K2O
KNO3 Na2O
N2 (g)
Final Reaction. K2O alkaline silicate
Na2O (glass)
SiO2

AIRBAGS WORKING PRINCIPLE

Definition:

An airbag is an elastic bag or cushion like makeup which inflates and deflates quickly at
some stage in certain types of car accidents.

It is a safety device aimed at preventing or minimizing injury to passengers when such an

accident occurs.

Types of Airbags:

 Frontal Airbags
 Shaped airbag
 Side Airbag
 Side Torso Airbag
 Curtain airbag
  Knee Airbag
 Rear Curtain Airbag
 Centre Airbag
Working Principle of Airbags in Car:
The design is conceptually simple; a central "Airbag control unit" (ACU) (a specific type
of ECU) monitors a number of related sensors within the vehicle, including
accelerometers, impact sensors, side (door) pressure sensors, wheel speed sensors, gyro
scopes, brake pressure sensors, and seat occupancy sensors. When the requisite
'threshold' has been reached or exceeded, the airbag control unit will trigger the ignition
of a gas generator propellant to rapidly inflate a fabric bag. As the vehicle occupant
collides with and squeezes the bag, the gas escapes in a controlled manner through small
vent holes. The airbag's volume and the size of the vents in the bag are tailored to each
vehicle type, to spread out the deceleration of (and thus force experienced by) the
occupant over time and over the occupant's body, compared to a seat belt alone.

Sensors Signals Working:

The signals from the various sensors are fed into the Airbag control unit, which
determines from them the angle of impact, the severity, or force of the crash, along with
other variables. Depending on the result of these calculations, the ACU may also deploy
various additional restraint devices, such as seat belt pre-tensioners, and/or airbags
(including frontal bags for driver and front passenger, along with seat-mounted side bags,
and "curtain" airbags which cover the side glass). Each restraint device is typically
activated with one or more pyrotechnic devices, commonly called an initiator or electric
match. The electric match, which consists of an electrical conductor wrapped in a
combustible material, activates with a current pulse between 1 to 3 amperes in less than 2
milliseconds. When the conductor becomes hot enough, it ignites the combustible
material, which initiates the gas generator. In a seat belt pre-tensioner, this hot gas is used
to drive a piston that pulls the slack out of the seat belt. In an airbag, the initiator is used
to ignite solid propellant inside the airbag inflator. The burning propellant generates inert
gas which rapidly inflates the airbag in approximately 20 to 30 milliseconds. An airbag
must inflate quickly in order to be fully inflated by the time the forward-traveling
occupant reaches its outer surface. Typically, the decision to deploy an airbag in a frontal
crash is made within 15 to 30 milliseconds after the onset of the crash, and both the driver
and passenger airbags are fully inflated within approximately 60-80 milliseconds after the
first moment of vehicle contact. If an airbag deploys too late or too slowly, the risk of
occupant injury from contact with the inflating airbag may increase. Since more distance
typically exists between the passenger and the instrument panel, the passenger airbag is
larger and requires more gas to fill it.

Reaction Sequence:
Inside the airbag is a gas generator containing a mixture of NaNO3, KNO3, and SiO2 . The
signal from the deceleration sensor ignites the gas generator mixture by an electrical
impulse when head-on collision, creating the high temperature conditions necessary for
sodium asides to decompose at 300˚C. This causes a relatively slow kind of detonation
(Deflagration) that liberates a pre-calculated volume of N2 gas through series of chemical
reaction, which fills the air bag.

(1) 2 NaN3 → 2 Na + 3 N2 (g)

The first reaction is the decomposition of NaN3 under high temperature conditions using
an electric impulse. This impulse generates to 300°C temperatures required for the
decomposition of the NaN3 which produces Na metal and N2 gas. Since Na metal is
highly reactive, the KNO3 and SiO2 react and remove it, in turn producing more N2 gas.

(2) 10 Na + 2 KNO3 → K2O + 5 Na2O + N2 (g)

The second reaction shows just that. The reason that KNO3 is used rather than something
like NaNO3 is because it is less hygroscopic. It is very important that the materials used
in this reaction are not hygroscopic because absorbed moisture can de-sensitize the
system and cause the reaction to fail.

(3) K2O + Na2O + 2 SiO2 → K2O3Si + Na2O3Si (silicate glass)

The final reaction is used to eliminate the K2O and Na2O produced in the previous
reactions because the first-period metal oxides are highly reactive. These products react
with SiO2 to produce a silicate glass which is a harmless and stable compound

Air Bag Production:

The air bag is manufactured by a complete process that has been mentioned in a flow
chart:

Production flow chart of airbag

Properties of Airbags:

High Tensile strength

Good heat stability
High Tear strength
Low Air permeability
Free of knots, splices, spots and broken ends.
Good Heat capacity
Good Folding behavior
Better Energy absorption
Good Coating adhesion
Functionality at extreme hot and cold conditions
Package ability
Reduced skin abrasion (softness