1. Airbags and it’s role in safety
Vinayaka Mallya S
Hemanth G
Vikas G Hegde

2. WHAT ARE AIRBAGS ?
It is a safety device fitted in a vehicle, consisting of a cushion designed to inflate rapidly and protect passengers from impact in the course of a collision.

3. Objectives of Airbags
The main objective of an air bag is to minimize the harm to the passenger by reducing the fore exerted by steering wheel and the dashboard or any point on the body during an impact. This is accomplished in two ways:  By increasing the interval of the force being applied.  2. By spreading the force over a larger area of the body .

4. WHY DO WE NEED THEM?
During the automobile construction, the top priority is always given to the safety of the driver and the passenger.
Thus the airbags were introduced
The installation of airbags makes the vehicle costlier. But the safety of the passenger is increased exponentially

5. HISTORY
The automobile industry had started in the late 1950’s to research on air bags and the first invented version was patented on 1953.
Air bags have been commercially available since the late 1980’s.
The study also suggests that death among drivers using both airbags and seat belts are 26% lower than among drivers using seat belts alone.
In the early 1970s, Ford and General Motors began offering cars equipped with airbags.
GM's Oldsmobile Tornado was the first domestic vehicle to include a passenger airbag.

6. WHAT ARE AIRBAGS MADE UP OF ?
The material most commonly used is “Woven Nylon Fabric”.
Neoprene coated, Non Neoprene coated and Silicone coated.
These materials are having following properties;
High tensile strength
High air permeability
High tear strength
Good folding behavior
Reduced skin abrasion
Free of knots, sharp edges, package ability and so on.

7. LOCATIONS OF AIRBAGS IN AN AUTOMOBILE.
Airbags is mainly found in cars as most people as it the most preferred public transport.
Front driver / passenger airbag – its capacity is 65 litres.
Rear passenger’s side impact airbag – its capacity is 100 – 300 litres. They can be mounted in the doors, seats, or sometimes even roof rails. Most side airbags are designed to protect people's chests, and they are likely to provide some head protection.
Knee bolster airbag for driver, Thorax air bag for driver.

8. WORKING PRINCIPLE
It takes only about milliseconds to get activated at the event of collision. Airbags become energy-absorbing buffers between people and the hard interior surfaces of vehicles.
Once the sensor has turned on the electrical circuit, a pallet of sodium azide (NaN3) is ignited, and a rapid reaction occurs, generating nitrogen gas. This gas fills a nylon or poly amide bag at a velocity of miles per hour.
In order for the air bag to cushion the head for maximum protection, the air bag must begin to deflate by the time the body hits. Otherwise the high internal pressure of the airbag would create a surface as hard as stone.

9. WORKING PRINCIPLE

10. OPERATION OF AIRBAGS

13. OPERATION WHILE ROLLING
Rollover accidents are a rapidly increasing problem due to the popularity of light trucks, sport utility vehicles and other vehicles with a higher center of gravity. This causes a severe damage to occupants during rollover; this can be prevented by putting a side airbag.

14. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN AIRBAG TECHNOLOGY
The new technologies are,
Radial development systems Lower leg airbag system.

15. DIFFERENT TYPES OF AIR BAGS USED:
Frontal airbag
Shaped airbags
Side airbag
Side torso airbag
Seat cushion
Side tubular or curtain airbag
Rear curtain airbag
Pedestrian

16. SRS AIRBAGS:
An SRS airbag is an extra safety measure that’s commonplace in vehicles these days. The SRS stands for supplemental restraint system, and it’s intended to provide protection above that offered by the seatbelt in the event of an accident.
When the vehicle is hit, the airbag sensor (also known as the airbag ECU) will signal the airbag to open. All modern vehicles have at least one airbag for the driver, which is in the steering wheel, and many also have an airbag for the passenger. These are effectively large cushions that stop the person going forward into the wheel, dash, or through the windshield.
The SRS airbag is tested by the car’s computer every time the vehicle is switched on. A light will come on in the dash

18. Aerospace and military applications
NASA engineers test the Mars Pathfinder airbag landing system on simulated Martian terrain
The aerospace industry and the United States government have applied airbag technologies for many years. NASA, and United States Department of Defense have incorporated airbag systems in various aircraft and spacecraft applications as early as the 1960s.
OH-58D CABS test

19. THANK YOU