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afi360
R/T
 
1/23/2003
22:15:18
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 Subject: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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my friend who recently graduated a 1 year term at wyoming tech thinks he is GODLY when it comes to cars. he tells me that airbags are deployed by actual black powder explosives. i beg to differ. he says that the powder that comes out is explosive residue or some jive, and that they fire in excess of 1600 degrees. my guess would be some form of compressed air, c02, or something, or maybe a small small contained explosive charge. i know that the white powder is just packing powder to keep the bag from clinging and cracking over the years, and i know for a fact that the scrapes and scratches you get are just pressure burns from a canvas (?) bag hitting your head at a fast rate of speed. someone clear this up please.
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AndrewM
Dodge Dakota
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1/23/2003
22:34:39
| RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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From HowStuffWorks.com:
The air bag's inflation system reacts sodium azide (NaN3) with potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce nitrogen gas. Hot blasts of the nitrogen inflate the air bag.
The main chemical component in the airbag is sodium azide (NaN3) together with KNO3 and SiO2. In the gas generator a mixture of NaN3, KNO3, and SiO2 is ignited through an electrical impulse and causes a relatively slow kind of detonation, called a "deflagration", that liberates a precalculated volume of nitrogen gas, which fills the air bag.
2 NaN3 ---> 2Na + 3N2
The sodium by-product of reaction 1, and the potassium nitrate generate additional nitrogen for the airbag in a second reaction
10 Na + 2 KNO3 ---> K20 + 5 Na2O + N2
These two reactions leave potassium oxide and sodium oxide to react with the third compound of the mixture, silicon dioxide, forming alkaline silicate ("glass"), which is a safe and stable, unignitable compound.
K2O + Na2O + SiO2 ---> alkaline silicate (glass)
The air bag system ignites a solid propellant, which burns extremely rapidly to create a large volume of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally bursts from its storage site at up to 200 mph (322 kph) -- faster than the blink of an eye! A second later, the gas quickly dissipates through tiny holes in the bag, thus deflating the bag so you can move.
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shad
Dodge Dakota
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1/23/2003
22:45:49
| RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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wow, that was an E=Mc 2 answer. but i've taken several vehical safety system class's as a fire fighter, and your friend is right, there is an explosive charge much like gun powder, and it creates a lot of heat, we deployed one once in one of the class's and it was hot for 3 hours. the gas's from the charge being detonated fill the bag.
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Joe
Dodge Dakota
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1/23/2003
22:46:44
| RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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Hehe I get to blow all the bad ones up at work ! Yes its a violent explosion and It sure looks like it would hurt , If you put them on there face and pop them they go about 30-40 feet up in the air and sound somewhat like a ummm 12 gauge shotgun , Then the Manager comes out and rides your ass , But hey its fun !
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BigRedDak
Dodge Dakota
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1/23/2003
22:49:16
| RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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Andrew is correct of course, the scary thing is we had to figure out the exact reaction in one of my early chemistry classes. I was one of the three students who got it right :)
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leash
Dodge Dakota
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8/19/2004
04:21:04
|  RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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um wats dat mean ?
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Allan
Dodge Dakota
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8/19/2004
08:12:57
|  RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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I had both my airbags go off when I was rearended by a pickup truck when I was driving my old 95 GT Mustang. I was stationary at the time when I heard the truck skidding and then bang. Hit me hard enough to push me into the car in front which went into the car in front of it. After my car had stopped bouncing around I pushed the deflated air bag around the steering wheel and got out of the car. Thought to myself that if thats all there is to an airbag going off then I'm all for them. It felt like hitting a big pillow. No pain, sore neck, burns, or anything at all. The fire brigade were surprised that I wasn't hurt by the airbags going off. Pushed both bags back into their housings and was able to drive the car untill I got it to the body shop. Made a hell of a noise when they opened up. But I will say that they did their job very well.
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did they
Dodge Dakota
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8/19/2004
08:58:06
| RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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Seems to me that if you were able to drive the car they probably should not have gone off. You likely wouldn't have been hurt, or at least not too badly, and you (or your insurance company) would not have to pay for new bags.
My cousin bumped someone at a light last winter (icey) in his old Intrepid and blew the bags, only had about $1000 damage other wise, but they totaled the car due to the cost of new bags!
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Doug4.7
Dodge Dakota
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8/19/2004
15:08:31
|  RE: how do airbags (safety not susp) work?
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One of the issues with airbags is do you hit the airbag or does the airbag hit you? If the airbag fully inflates and THEN you fall into it, it is like hitting a pillow (only louder). If, on the other hand, you are close enough to the airbag that it inflates INTO you, you can be severely hurt. Even a pillow will hurt going 200 mph.
That is why you need to be as far away from the airbag as possible. If you are in the path of the airbag (like, say a short woman like my wife, she sits 8-10 inches from the steering wheel), the airbag deployment can be deadly.
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