Propellant Loads Testing: Application to Facility Design

摘要

Today, most new automobiles produced in the United States are required to have airbags installed to protect passengers in the event of a collision. Airbag systems are designed to deploy a gas-filled bag upon vehicle impact. When the system is triggered, a gas producing propellant is initiated. The gases rapidly fill and open the airbag, thus providing a cushion for passengers. In an airbag system, the propellant combustion is a controlled explosion. However, several operations in propellant processing for use in airbag cartridges can be hazardous. Operations such as pressing, granulating, slugging, etc., can impart impulsive or thermal energy which can initiate the propellant. Hazards from these operations are a concern due to the quantity of propellant typically required for the operations to be efficient. To support design of propellant operating bays and the design of modifications to existing operating bays, one airbag manufacturer had tests performed to characterize their propellants. One of their principal propellants has a hazard classification of 1.3. Most of the characterization tests were not adequate to predict blast loads for a complete range of design variables. Therefore, loads tests were performed to simulate a typical operating bay. Pressures were measured both inside the bay of occurrence and at several adjacent points. This paper presents a summary of the test program and an overview on use of the test data for design purposes.