Recent Developments In Airbags For Passenger Safety In Automobile

Abstract

In order to improve the critical injuries due to the automobile accidents, there are many types of airbags are used. By using different kinds of airbags, the casualty from automobile accidents is bating day by day very swiftly. The airbags play an important role in this era. An airbag is used to prevent from the many injuries like head, chest, & other severe injuries which happen due to the automobile fender-bender. The bag is designed in such a way so that after the fender-bender the airbags can easily inflate in very short time period . The main purpose of the paper is to evaluate the countless types of airbags, their functions and application of airbags in the triggering development.

Keywords: Working of airbags, Materials required, Features of fabrics, Different Types, Recent Developments

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Introduction

An airbag is defined as a restraint element which very easily activate automatically when the motor vehicles gets into an accidental incident. If the evaluation is made between seat belts and airbags, then from the safety point of view airbags play an important role. There is also the propensity to deactivate the mechanism of airbags by using buttons which are provided underside of the seats or on the passenger side of the dashboard. In different types of motor vehicles the position of the buttons is provided at different places.

Now, the forefront point is when the airbags came into continuation? According to the intermodal suface transport efficiency act 1991, there was the rule passed in which the airbags must be installed at the driver’s position and at the passenger’s position. The passenger automobiles and light duty motor vehicless have to install the airbags at these jotted down position. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that by using the airbags, it had been saved 4600 lives in the month of September of 1999[1, 4- 6].

Now, the eye-catching point is how do the airbags work? The airbag system consist of manifold sensors, a control device and at least one airbag and sensor also use. Sensors are used to sense the wrench or tug and then make the airbag possible to come out. The control devices are used to manage the time of opening. The speed at which the airbags will come out also manage by the control device. In addition to that data from accelerometer, wheel speed sensors and other sources are monitored by the control unit to control the position of the airbags. All the airbag are packed and deflated into the compartments thatare situated or positioned at steering, dashboards, side windows and roofs. The airbags also contain the initiator and chemical propellants that are used to burst into flames the propellants to generate the thrust. When the condign conditions have reached, the control devices make the first move the initiator which in turn burst into flames the propellants and bring about the gas in the airbags. The gas which is filled in the airbags is nitrogen gas. This entire process takes a scanty time. The airbags can be fully inflated thereabouts 30 milliseconds [2, 3, 5]. After the use of the airbag, it may be replaced as the full chemical burns to fill with air the bags thatis why, the airbags are used as single devices. The airbags are one time use devices. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the different types of airbags, material requirements, and applications of airbags.

Materials For Airbags

Airbags can be made up of polyesters as well as nylon. There is the range in case of nylon which comprises of nylon 4.6, nylon 6 and nylon 6.6. The property of the nylon differs from range to range as nylon 6.6 is far better than other forms of nylon in thermal features, recuperation in the elastic property, elongation and moisture contents and density. Nylon6.6 is better than other form of nylon. Now, the automobile in all point is that which many type of fabrics are required for airbags? The fabrics which have a high elongation, high strength, have a good resistance to aging, high resistance which there abouts 190oC, have a large pliability, have a good resistance to ultraviolet lights should be suggested.

Types Of Airbags

After so many researches and developments, there are assured types of airbags have been developed which focus on the safety of the passenger and to protect all the major parts of the passengers, when the accident occurs. The researches are also just about in the automotive industries to provide as much as possible safety features to the passengers10, 12, and 13. There are myraid types of airbags which are used in the modern motor vehicles to provide for the protection of the passengers. These are as follows:

1. Side Airbags

These are provided together on the sides of front and rear of the seats with the purpose of protect the passenger’s pelvis.

2. Frontal Airbags

For the intention of the driver’s safety, the airbags are also located at the steering wheel and also provide on the dashboard for the passenger’s safety. These are used to protect the passengers from the injuries on head and chest during the fortuitous incident.

3. Side Curtain Airbags

It is another form of the side airbags. These are deployed from the door and roof of the motor vehicles and are overblown across the windows with the intention of save the head and upper part of the body of the passengers from the injury which is caused by broken glass.

4. Knee Airbags

The airbags which are installed underside of the steering system with the intention of protect the knees of the drivers from the high tug or jerk that will be caused by high brunt of accidental incidents.

5. Rear Curtain Airbags

The airbags are provided on the motor vehicle’s rear side to save from the injuries of heads of those persons who are sat on the rear seats.

6. Rear Center Airbags

This type of airbags is not so widespread in all motor vehicles. Most of the motor vehicless from Honda Company have been impied with such kind of airbags which protects the rear seated passenger to avoid injuries causing from one another. This type of airbag is provided at the center of the back seats.

7. Front Center Airbags

The type of airbags came into the subsistence in the year of 2013 by General motors, which uses these type of airbags in their motor vehicles at the centre between the driver’s and passenger’s seat in order to protect both of the persons having fender-bender when side impact is very strong from the any side of vehicle.

8. Seat Cushion Airbags

This type of airbags also came into subsistence in the year of 2012, it is provided at front sides of the seats in order to protect the person’s pelvis from descending the underneath of the lap belt by lifting up the knees.

9. Seat belt Airbags

These airbags have been developed by Ford, in order to make available safety to back seat passengers.

10. Hood Airbags

This type of airbags is a latest rejuvenation which has been done by Tata Company; to protect the pedestrian’s head, when collide with the motor vehicles. The airbag is located at the base of the windshield and derive, when the fender-bender occurs.

Recent Developments in Airbags

The first company that introduced the first dual depth side airbags for passenger safety was General Motors. These airbags work depending on the brutality of the crashing of the automobile, position of the seat belt to some distance.

BMW Company has also been precosious in the field of airbags. It has already been produced a knee airbags in its 7 series for the driver’s knee safety when fender-bender occurs. The reason behind this is that it makes the person to prohibit his/her legs due to crash which causes to slide down or forward.

There is the great development in the roof type of airbags. The new bag in roof airbags has replaced the pasenger airbags which is located in the intrumental plate to care for passenger. It is used in Citroen Cactus C4 SUV motor vehicles.

There is the marvelous development in the dual stage airbags which are located at the location of the seat belts and front seats. These are used in less severe as well as high severe accidents. These are also used to prevent child and small adults for getting any injury during fender-bender.

There is the great development in the side of the airbags. It comes with three designs in order to protect the passenger. The first design is known as tubular which has a tendency to inflate from roof, shutter design that has a tendency to employ from the roof and another is the airbag design which causes to inflate forward and up.

Ford has been introduced the new passenger airbag design on the Ford mustang. The inflator fills the bladder and extends it to the entire glovebox outer door panel towards the passnger legs that must have seated in the front, when any accident will occur than in the airbags. It is thereabouts 65-70% lighter than all the previous airbag system and resulting in more and more breathing space for the passenger in the motor vehicles.

In the year of 2013, the General Motors introduced its front center airbags in the Chevrolet Traverse and in Crossover. It has a tendency to deploy from the right side of the driver’s seat upto the centre of the motor vehicles to provide more and more safety to the passengers due to side crush and rollover accidents.

In the year of 2011, Ford Motors developed an helium balloon seat belts as a part of airbags in order to protect the chest, head, and neck injuries to all those who are seated in the rear seat of themotor vehicles whether they are child or elder persons.

Conclusion & Future Scope

As from the above, it is concluded that many industrialized companies have provided various types of airbags to protect the passengers in the motor vehicles when any fender-bender or accidental incident occurs. There have been beyond belief developments in the field of airbags such as development of knee airbags, roof airbags and many more. Many industrialized companies are working on the further developments in the airbags in order to protect infants whoc are being seated at the front seat or rear seats. Other than that, the work is being automobileried on in order to have an peripheral airbags on the side of the automobiles in order to protect the passengers from the side crashes.

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