INTEGRATED TERM PROJECT

Airbags

Under the guidance of Ms. Aboli Naik

Submitted by Abhijeet Kumar
INDEX:

Introduction of Airbag ----------------------------------------2

Timeline---------------------------------------------------------3-4

Types of Airbags in Car----------------------------------------5

Objective of airbag---------------------------------------------6-7

Working Principles---------------------------------------------8

Components of Airbag-----------------------------------------9

Reactions during Inflation------------------------------------10

Manufacturing Process----------------------------------------11-18

Quality control--------------------------------------------------19

Future Prospects-----------------------------------------------19-21

Airbags Market-------------------------------------------------22-23

References------------------------------------------------------24

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AIRBAGS

Figure 1 Airbag

Introduction: Airbags Improve Automobile Safety

The development of airbags began with the idea for a system that would restrain
automobile drivers and passengers in an accident, whether or not they were wearing
their seat belts.

Airbags have been commonly available since the late 1980's; however, they were first
invented (and a version was patented) in 1953.
The automobile industry started in the late 1950's to research airbags and soon
discovered that there were many more difficulties in the development of an airbag
than anyone had expected. Crash tests showed that for an airbag to be useful as a
protective device, the bag must deploy and inflate within 40 milliseconds. The
system must also be able to detect the difference between a severe crash and a minor
fender-bender.

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 TIMELINE

Jan 1, 1952 First invented

An industrial engineer by the name of John Wenrick was the first person to
start developing the technology for safety devices like the airbag.

Jan 1, 1962 Prototyping

Mercedes began prototyping airbags to be used in their vehicles.

Jan 1, 1977 Seat belts/Airbags

The Carter Administration of United States mandated that all cars must be
manufactured with either automatic seat belts or air bags by model year
1984.

Jan 1, 1981 Driver side airbags

Mercedes Benz “S-class” is the first production car with driver side airbags.

Sep 1, 2009 Safety Upgradation

NHTSA, a road safety agency in US, is working on upgrading side-impact
safety standards for all passenger vehicles

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 May 3, 2010
Technological Advancement
BMW has also been at the forefront of advanced airbag technology.
Its 7 Series was an early adopter of knee airbags, which protect the
legs and help the driver avoid sliding down and forward during a
crash.

On/off switches of passenger side airbags

Head Airbag - Unlike other airbags, it is designed to stay inflated

for about five seconds to offer protection against second or third
impacts.

First Airbag in Car

Figure 2 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

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TYPES OF AIRBAGS IN CAR

The use of airbag has expanded beyond frontal airbags for protecting the driver.
Passenger side airbags and inflatable curtains are now included in side
compartments of vehicles and leg airbag for enhanced protection from side collisions
or rollovers. The airbags, depending upon their placement, in the vehicle can be
classified as:

 Front driver / passenger airbag – its capacity is 65 litres fill.

 Rear passenger’s side impact airbag – its capacity is 100 – 300 litre fills. They
can be mounted in doors, seats, or sometimes even roof rails. Most side airbags
are designed to protect people's chests, and they're likely to provide some head
protection too.

 Knee bolster airbag for driver.

Figure 3 Different types of Airbags in car

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OBJECTIVE OF AIRBAG

The main objective of an air bag is to lower the number of injuries by reducing the
fore exerted by steering wheel and the dashboard or any point on the body. This is
accomplished in two ways:

1. By increasing the interval over the force being applied.

2. By spreading the force over a large area of the body.

The airbag system has been engineered to work with the pressure between the
passenger and steering wheel, in a fraction of second. The airbag unit must also stay
intact at low velocity collisions. The crash sensor, which detects the collisions and
trigger the bag, to inflate must take all those constraints into account. The operation
of deflation happens when N2 generation stops, gas molecules escape the bag
through vents. The pressure inside the bag decreases and the bag deflates slightly to
create a soft cushion. Within 2 seconds after the initial impact, the pressure inside
the bag reaches atmospheric pressure.

Figure 4 Inflation of Airbag

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 Figure 5 With and without Airbag

Figure 6 Airbag and Seatbelt

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WORKING PRINCIPLES

 Ideal-Gas Laws (Macroscopic Picture)

 PV=nRT

(where P = Pressure inside the bag,

V= Volume of the airbag,

n= no. of molecules,

R= Gas constant,

T=Temperature)

 Estimating the Pressure to Fill an Airbag

o Acceleration

o Force

o Pressure

 Deflation

 Kinetic Theory of Gases (Microscopic Picture)

 Pressure as the Result of Molecular Collisions with Container Walls

 Average and Root-Mean-Square Speed of Molecules

 Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution

 Protection in a Collision

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  Newton's Laws.

 Airbags Decrease the Force on the Body.

 Airbags Spread the Force Over a Larger Area.

COMPONENTS OF AIRBAG

Figure 7 Air Bag Components

The goal of an airbag is to slow the passenger's forward motion as evenly as possible
in a fraction of a second. There are three parts to an airbag that help to accomplish
this feat:

 The bag itself is made of a thin, nylon fabric, which is folded into the
steering wheel or dashboard or, more recently, the seat or door.

 The sensor is the device that tells the bag to inflate. Inflation happens
when there is a collision force equal to running into a brick wall at 10 to 15
miles per hour (16 to 24 km per hour).

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 The airbag's inflation system reacts sodium azide (NaN3) with
potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce nitrogen gas. Hot blasts of the
nitrogen inflate the airbag.

REACTIONS DURING INFLATION:

Reactant
Gas-Generator Reaction Products
s

Initial Reaction Triggered by Na

NaN3
Sensor. N2 (g)

K2O
Na
Second Reaction. Na2O
KNO3
N2 (g)

K2O
alkaline silicate
Final Reaction. Na2O
(glass)
SiO2

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. 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.

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 2NaN3 2Na + 3 N2 (Gas)
(Sodium Azide)

Figure 8 Airbag Deployment

AIRBAG PRODUCTION PROCESS

The following flow chart shows a typical manufacturing line airbag.

Fig. Airbag fabric productions flow-chart

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Airbags are generally manufactured by weaving mechanism.

Fabric Requirements:

1. Small fabric thickness.

2. Low specific fabric weight.

3. High tenacity in warp and weft direction.

4. High tenacity for further tearing.

5. High elongation.

6. Good resistance to ageing.

7. Heat resistance up to 1900C.

8. Precisely controlled gas permeability.

9. Excellent seam integrity.

10. Reduced value or burn through resistance.

The most widely used yarn in the airbag market is nylon 6.6 yarn in the denier
ranging from 420 to 840. Nylon 6, nylon 4.6 and polyester are also used. Nylon 6 is
used in small percentage of US made airbags.

DuPont, Allied Signal, Akzo and Toray are the major fibre suppliers of airbags.

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 Figure 9 Nylon 6,6 fabric for Airbag

Fabric construction for Airbags

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The air bag is sewn from a woven nylon fabric and can come in different shapes and
sizes depending on specific vehicle requirements. The amount of fabric needed to
construct an airbag depends upon its position in the car and the market that it
serves. The driver's-side air bag material is manufactured with a heat shield coating
to protect the fabric from scorching, especially near the inflator assembly, during
deployment.

The European 'face bag' consumes 0.6 m2 whilst its American counterpart needs 1.5
m2. In Europe and Japan, some 3 m2 of fabric will make a passenger bag, the larger
American version taking 4 m2.

The fabrics used to make a driver and passenger's airbags are quite different. Most
driver side airbags are coated. In comparison, the fabric which is used to make
passenger airbag is normally uncoated.

Silicone
Type of airbag Neoprene coated Non- coated coated

Yarns Nylon 6.6 Nylon 6.6 Nylon 6.6 Nylon 6.6 Nylon 6.6

Denier 840 420 840 420 420

EPI 98 193 32 57 46

PPI 98 793 32 51 46

GSM 280 260 252 238 175

Thickness(mm) 0.38 0.34 0.4 0.35 0.25

Table no. 1: constructional detail of fabric

Commonly, the airbag made were coated by neoprene, but recently silicon coated
and uncoated varieties have become popular. Coated airbag is generally preferred for
driver seats.
Usually Rapier with insertion rate of 400 m/min has been found most suitable for
weaving airbags.

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Even water jet and air jet with insertion rate of 600 m/min are being used.

Fabric for Frontal Airbags

Frontal airbags for the driver and front passenger provide effective protection in the
event of a head-on collision.

Airbag fabric must be able to withstand the immense pressure exerted when the gas
generator is activated. Flat woven fabrics are employed to make frontal (driver and
passenger) airbags. These fabrics are silicone-coated to provide the desired air
permeability and heat resistance. Typical coating weights are between 22 and 300
g/sq. m. The flat woven generally weigh between 150 and 260 g/sq. m uncoated.
Airbag parts made of flat woven are cut out in-house using state-of-the-art laser
equipment tailored to our processes and requirements. The cut sets are then
assembled on leading-edge Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines.

Figure 10 - Frontal Airbags

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Fabric for Passenger Airbags
The fabric which is used to make passenger airbag is normally uncoated. The type of
fabric is suitable because passenger bags are larger so they develop lower gas
pressure, have longer inflation times, and contain gas, which is cooler.

Generally, the fabric to make a passenger bag is stiffer and thicker; the thickness can
vary from 0.33 mm to 0.4 mm compared to 0.25 mm for a driver side bag. These
characteristics mean the airbags are larger, and their cost is comparatively less.

Figure 11 - Passenger airbag

Coating of Airbag Fabric

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Silicone fabric coatings have a long, successful history for use in industrial textiles,
including conveyor belts and other electrical equipment. The material's heat
resistance and long-term aging stability makes it the choice over organic rubber
coatings (neoprene).

Most driver side airbags are coated. In comparison, the fabric which is used to make
passenger airbag is normally uncoated. The coating is applied after the fabric is
scoured and heat set. It may be either a silicone or Neoprene elastomer. The coating
protects the fabric from hot inflator gases, prevent burn-through (pinholes) by hot
particulates produced by the inflator, control fabric permeability, and enhance the
bag's smooth deployment.

To give equivalent heat protection as that of Silicone, the Neoprene must be coated at
a weight more than twice that of the silicone. This results in a heavier, stiffer, and
thicker fabric. In contrast, the silicone-coated fabric is lighter, thinner, and softer.
This means that the same fabric can be folded into a more compact module.

Another benefit of silicone coating is that, it is more chemically compatible with

nylon fabric (the other chief material used in airbags) than Neoprene. The silicone
coating provides a protective layer against hydrolysis and also remains chemically
inert.

Figure 12- Properties of coated and Uncoated Fabrics

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Production Process

Air bag production involves three different separate assemblies namely:

• PROPELLENT
• INFLATOR
• AIRBAG FABRIC

PROPELLENT

• The propellant consists of sodium azide mixed together with an oxidizer.

• Manufacturers receive sodium azide and oxidizer from outside vendors.
• They are mixed together at sophisticated computerized process control.
• After blending, the propellant mixture is sent to storage.

INFLATOR

• Inflator consists of metal canister, the filter assembly—stainless steel wire mesh
with ceramic material inside and initiator (or igniter).
• The inflator sub-assembly is combined with the propellant and an initiator to form
the inflator assembly.

AIR BAG FABRIC

• Sizing of yarns is made by one dip process which applies polyacrylic coating.
• Generally, airbag fabrics are woven on rapier weaving machines or air jet looms.
• When air bag material has been finished, it is cut into panels by laser and sewn with
inflator assembly (CNC).

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 QUALITY CONTROL
The quality control aspect of air bag production is very important because many lives
depend on the safety feature. Two major areas where quality control is critical are the
propellant tests and the air bag inflator static and dynamic tests.
Propellants, before being inserted into inflators, are first subjected to ballistic tests to
predict their behaviour. A representative sample of inflators are pulled from the
production line and tested for proper operation by a full-scale inflator test, which
measures pressure—created by the generated gas inside a large tank 15.84 or 79.20
gallon (60 or 300 litres)—versus time in milliseconds. This gives an indication of the
inflator system's ability to produce an amount of gas at a given rate, ensuring proper
air bag inflation.
The air bags themselves are inspected for fabric and seam imperfections and then
tested for leaks.
Automated inspections are made at every stage of the production process line to
identify mistakes.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

The future for air bags looks extremely promising because there are many different
applications possible, ranging from aircraft seating to motorcycle helmets. The air
bags of the future will be more economical to produce and lighter in weight; will
involve smaller, more integrated systems; and will use improved sensors.

Side-impact air bags are another possibility that would work similar to driver- and
passenger-side air bags. Side-impact air bags will most likely be mounted in the car
door panels and deployed towards the window during impact to protect the head.
Foam padding around the door structure would also be used to cushion the upper
body in a side impact. Head and/or knee bolsters (energy absorbing pads) to
complement the air bag system are also being investigated.

SMART RESTRAIN SYSTEM:

In the future, more sophisticated sensors called "smart" sensors will be used to tailor
the deployment of the air bag to certain conditions. These sensors could be used to
sense the size and weight of the occupant, whether the occupant is present
(especially in the case of passenger-side air bags where deployment may be
unnecessary if there are no passengers), and the proximity of the driver to the

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steering.

Figure 13- Airbag in Plane

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Figure 14- Airbag in Honda Bike

Airbags for Senior citizens

For elderly people, simply falling can result in hip injuries and they often never
entirely recovered from the injuries. The 1.1 kilogram, or 2.4-pound, airbag looks a
bit like a traveller’s waist pouch but will inflate in around one-tenth of a second when
the sensors detect the wearer has fallen.

Sensors mounted on the pouch detect movement and have been programmed to
know when things have gone wrong - a slip on something wet, a stumble on an
uneven paving stone or a full-blown fall from a flight of stairs.

The product is designed to cushion a fall using two separate pockets, or bags, of air
by protecting the back of the head and the buttocks with inflated bags that contain
around 15 litres (3.9 gallons) of gas in each. When the wearer hits the ground, the
bag reduces impact force to the hip bones by a claimed 90 percent.

The personal airbag device currently retails for 1,400 dollars.

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Company: ActiveProactive, Propp

AIRBAG MARKET:

The market growth of airbag market chain (from fibre to module, ready to install)
has been phenomenal in recent years-from $800 million in 1990 to an expected
$37.3 billion by the year 2023 worldwide. Typically, it takes about 1.7 square yards of
fabric to make a driver side airbag and about 3.7 square yards to make a passenger
side airbag.

The market for airbags has reached the maturity level in the developed nations and
there is a huge demand in the developing nations like INDIA. In INDIA the airbag
market will receive the boost with the stringent safety regulations and increasing
consciousness among the automobile users. The Asia Pacific automotive airbag
market was valued at USD 5.91 billion in 2013 and is expected to be the fastest

growing automotive airbag market in the coming years.

Cost of an average Airbag in India starts from Rs. 60,000.

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The world's largest air bag suppliers are setting up plants and ramping up capacity in
India, eyeing a $2 billion opportunity thanks to tougher rules aimed at improving
one of the world's worst road-safety records.

In India, a person is killed in a road accident every four minutes - 141,000 in 2014 -
yet less than third of the 2.6 million cars sold each year have air bags in this cost-
conscious market. Some of the world's largest air bag makers - Autoliv Inc, Takata
Corp, TRW Automotive Inc and Toyoda Gosei Co - are setting up their assembling
plants in India.

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REFRENCES:
https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-
devices/airbag1.htm

http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Airbags/airbags.html

http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2012/09/air-bags-for-automobiles-materials-
and.html

http://www.swicofil.com/airbag.html

http://www.indiantextilejournal.com/articles/FAdetails.asp?id=5540

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