The Airbag Folding Pattern as a Means for Injury Reduction of Out-of-Position Occupants

Axel Malczyk; Heinz-Dieter Adomeit

doi:10.4271/952704

1995-11-01

The Airbag Folding Pattern as a Means for Injury Reduction of Out-of-Position Occupants 952704

The present study was conducted to compare a new air bag folding pattern, the so-called Petri folding (P-folding) with the conventional folding scheme, the so-called Leporello folding (L-folding) under out-of-position conditions. Static out-of-position tests were carried through with driverside air bag modules mounted to a rigid test stand and folded either according to the PF- or the LF-scheme. A Hybrid Ill small female dummy was placed on a seat in front of the module with two main test configurations: “chest centered on module” and “forehead centered on module” with varying separations from the module ranging from 0 to 100 mm.

For the configuration “chest centered on module” values of all relevant injury criteria for the chest and the neck were significantly lower with the P-folding.

For the configuration “forehead centered on module” neck loadings were lower with P-folding in almost all cases except for neck tension and extension moment at separations of 0 mm and 20 mm. The geometry of the module cover tear line was found to have negative influence here. The use of a neckskin and chin insert in some of the tests had different effects on the neck loads depending on the bag folding pattern.

Cosmetic markings applied to the dummy's face left far less smeared remains on the P-folded bag in comparison to the conventional folding. This indicates a reduced relative motion between the bag fabric and the skin during inflation.

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The Airbag Folding Pattern as a Means for Injury Reduction of Out-of-Position Occupants 952704

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