UMTRI Project

Airbag Thermal Burns

Sponsor:
Investigator: Matthew Reed
00/00/0000 - 00/00/0000

Most vehicle airbags are inflated using hot gas generated by a chemical process. Using hot gas allows the required pressure to be obtained with a smaller mass of gas than would be the case using lower temperatures. However, the hot gas can pose a risk of thermal burns if it comes in contact with the skin during deployment and occupant interaction. In a series of studies, the sensitivity of human skin to short-duration, high-speed, high-temperature gas jets was quantified. A one-dimensional numerical model of heat transfer into the skin was developed that can quantify the risk of burn. Combined with gas dynamics models of the airbag, the potential of an airbag to produce a thermal burn in skin exposed to the airbag exhaust can be quantified. The results of this research were used to develop a laboratory test procedure to evaluate airbag skin burn potential using a thermal flux sensor in conjunction with the numerical heat transfer simulation model.