COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR AN AIR BAG RESTRAINT SYSTEM

A SIMULATION MODEL WAS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE AN ANALYTICAL TOOL FOR RAPIDLY AND INEXPENSIVELY EXPLORING THE APPROXIMATE PERFORMANCE OF AN AIR BAG SYSTEM. ACCELERATION AND REBOUND OF THE IMPACTING BODY ARE THE PRINCIPAL MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE; HOW THEY ARE INFLUENCED BY SYSTEM DESIGN VARIATIONS ARE THE PRINCIPAL RESULTS. TYPICAL DESIGN PARAMETERS WHICH CAN BE EVALUATED ARE INFLATION PRESSURE, BAG SIZE, GROSS BAG SHAPE, VENT AREA, AND VENT ACTUATION PRESSURE AS WELL AS OTHER SYSTEM VARIABLES. THE BASIC MODEL AIR BAG CONSISTS OF A FABRIC TYPE CONTAINER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL CENTER SECTION WITH HEMISPHERICAL ENDS. A RIGID BODY, CORRESPONDING TO THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE TORSO OF A VEHICLE OCCUPANT, IS ASSUMED TO IMPACT THE AIR BAG AT THE CENTER AND NORMAL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS. A DEFORMED SHAPE PROFILE IS POSTULATED WHICH MAINTAINS THE LONGITUDINAL SECTION PERIPHERY AND THE CROSS SECTION CONTOUR LENGTHS CONSTANT AND EQUAL TO THEIR INITIAL VALUES. ALL OUTPUT PARAMETERS ARE PROVIDED AS FUNCTIONS OF TIME; THESE INCLUDE ACCELERATION, VELOCITY, DISPLACEMENT, INTERNAL PRESSURE, VOLUME, PRESSURE-FORCE AREA, GAS FLOW, AND RESIDUAL GAS WEIGHT. THE REPORT CONTAINS THE EQUATIONS AND FLOW CHARTS WHICH DESCRIBE THE MODEL. A PROGRAM LISTING IN BASIC+ IS PRESENTED, AS ARE EXAMPLES FOR THE SOLUTION OF CYLINDRICAL AND CUSTOMIZED AIR BAGS. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract FH-11-7574 Rept No CAL-YB-2985-V-2
• Corporate Authors:

  Calspan Corporation

  4455 Genesee Street
  Buffalo, NY  United States  14225
• Authors:
  • Dufort, R H
• Publication Date: 1971-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 84 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air bags; Computer programs; Design; Performance tests; Simulation
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222020
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rept
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 8 1973 12:00AM