Air Bags

Introduction

Air bags are designed to keep occupants head,

neck, and chest from slamming into the dash,
steering wheel, or windshield in a front-end
crash in a fraction of second.
Air bags are most effective in protecting
vehicle occupants who are properly belted.
Air bags have vents, so they deflate
immediately after cushioning you.

PURPOSE

Air bags are inflatable cushions that protect

occupant from hitting the interior parts of car, or
in some cases objects outside car (i.e. other
vehicles or trees).
About 60% car accident death are minimize.
Air bags are designed to limit head and chest
injuries.

NEWTONS LAW

To study an auto accident, it is necessary to

study the changes in momentum that a car
faces during the collision.
"A body in motion will stay in motion until it
is acted up by an outside force."

CONSTRUCTION

Airbags are consists of following main

units.
1. Control Unit.
2. The Inflation Unit.
3. Airbag Unit.
4. Impact Sensor.

CONTROL UNIT

1.

2.
3.
4.

The control unit includes the following

circuits :
Crash sensors and their associated wiring
harness.
Diagnostic module with readiness indicator.
Electrical System.
Airbag Modules With Inflators.

2. THE INFLATION UNIT

Chemistry behind airbags

NaN32Na+3N2
10Na+2KNO3K20+5Na20+N2
K20+Na20+siO2Alkaline silicates (Glass)

3. AIRBAG UNIT

Typical driver sides airbags are constructed of

light weight nylon fabric measuring 714 mm in
diameter are 152 mm deep and fill volume of
65 liters.
Passenger side airbags may be as much several
times larger, and are designed to hold 100-300
liters.

4. IMPACT SENSORS

Typically several sensors are mounted in

remote frontal areas of the vehicle, wired in
series or parallel combination with a safing
sensors located with the system diagnostics.

ACTUAL WORKING

Airbag Before Collision

Airbag After Collision

TYPES OF AIRBAG
1.
2.

DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAG

PASSENGER AIR BAG

HOW TO AVOID INJURIES

The first step in preventing the injuries from

inflating airbags is to wear one's seat belt and
maintain a proper seating position.

What you can do for your Airbag System.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

When you get in your vehicle and turn the key, look at the
dash to find your Airbag or SRS light.
It should come on for 7-10 seconds and then go out. This tells
you all is well with the Airbag System.
If the light does not come on, HAVE IT CHECKED. After all,
it could just be a burnt out light bulb.
If the light does not go off after this period usually (7-10
seconds) there is a problem
If the light comes on while you are driving, it also needs
attention.
You need to take it to a repair shop that has the equipment to
diagnose and repair the problem.

CONCLUSION

The airbags help keep people's heads and

chests from hitting the steering wheel,
instrument panel, or windshield.
energy-absorbing buffers between people and
the hard interior surfaces of vehicles.

Reference
Leonard Evans Traffic safety and driver 1997
William Cruise Automotive mechanism
Automotive Technology Asia 1999
Internet :
www.airbagsystem.com
www.nhtsa.com
www.airbagservices.com
www.howstuffworks.com
www.sae.org.
www.airbagsafety.com
www.indicars.com
www.highwaysafety.com

Thank you