Characterization of torso side airbag aggressivity - biomed 2009

Torso side airbags are typically seat- or door-mounted; i.e., mounted within the seat back or within the door panel lateral to the occupant. Because previous work has shown the propensity of airbags to cause harm in unintended out-of-position occupant orientations, scientific investigation of injury risks continues. Such work involves anthropomorphic test devices and cadaveric specimens which have time and monetary costs associated with their use. These costs necessitate experimental efficiency, achieved by selecting representative airbags from the multitude of options in contemporary automobiles. This study proposes a novel method for characterizing torso side airbag deployment aggressivity for purposes of selection. The test fixture consisted of an array of rigidly positioned three-axis load cells oriented in opposition to a rigid airbag mount at fixed distances of 6 or 8 cm. Six exemplar torso airbag modules were subjected to these two deployment configurations. Force characteristics of maximum resultant force, peak and mean force onset rate, and linear impulse were quantified for comparison. Force characteristics demonstrated ranges between 210% (linear impulse) and 2,500% (mean force onset rate) of minimum value. This test method demonstrated differentiation in the diversity of SAB designs and quantified the airbagenvironment interaction during deployment. These force characteristics may correlate to thoracic injury risk from out-of position torso side airbag deployment.