An airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window. Modern vehicles may contain multiple airbags in various side and frontal locations of the passenger seating positions, and sensors may deploy one or more airbags in an impact zone at variable rates based on the type and severity of impact; the airbag is designed to only inflate in mild to severe frontal crashes. Airbags are normally designed with the intention of supplementing the protection of an occupant who is correctly restrained with a seat belt. Most designs are inflated through pyrotechnic means and can only be operated once.
The first commercial designs were introduced in passenger automobiles during the 1970s with limited success. Broad commercial adoption of airbags occurred in many markets during the late 1980s and early 1990s with two airbags for the front occupants, and many modern vehicles now include four or more units.
Air Bag Restraint System :-
Automatic safety device containing air bags that, in the event of impact, instantly come between the occupants and the dashboard
The Air Bag System :-
- The air bag system includes the air bag itself, a sensor, and a diagnostic unit that controls the system. In a head-on crash, the vehicle's front-end crushes, absorbing crash energy and creating a softer stop for restrained occupants.
- An unrestrained or loosely restrained person will continue to move forward at the same speed until hitting the car's interior. Properly restrained occupants come to a more gradual stop, along with the vehicle.
- Air bags also help drivers and passengers come to a more gradual stop, preventing contact with a vehicle’s interior and distribute crash forces more broadly across the body than with a seat belt alone.
- As the crash happens, sensors send a signal to the air bag.
- A chemical reaction produces harmless nitrogen gas that fills the bag and pushes it out of its compartment.
- The whole process takes only about 1/20th of a second. (Half the time it takes you to blink!) The air bag then starts to deflate as the gas disappears, absorbing crash energy.
Types Of Airbag :-
# Side Airbags :-
Side airbags are an important innovation in vehicle safety equipment for protecting occupants in side impact crashes such as at intersections or when a vehicle veers off the road and crashes side-on into an object like a pole or tree.Side airbags also offer protection in rollover crashes or when two vehicles have an adjacent angle crash.
There are different types of side airbags:-
- Curtain Airbags :-
These protect the head for both front and, in most of the cases, back seat occupants during a side crash. When deployed they form a cushion between the occupant's head and the window.They may also offer protection during a roll over.
- Torso Airbags :-
These protect the body from the shoulders to the hip. They are fitted for the front seat occupants and, depending on the manufacturer, for rear seat occupants.They deploy from the seat or the door to form a cushion between the occupant’s torso and the door panels and vehicle body.
- Combination Head/torso Airbags :-
This system protects the head and the body from the shoulders down to the hip and is typically provided for front seat occupants only. They are located in a similar position to the torso airbags, but are larger as they protect the head and torso.
It is important to confirm with the vehicle’s manufacturer about the type of protection provided by the side airbags offered in a vehicle.Side airbags that protect the head and the torso for both front and rear seat occupants offer the best protection.For this reason, a combination of curtain airbags and torso airbags should be chosen as they can offer protection during roll overs as well.
- Curtain airbags - provides head protection for front and back seat occupants (typically).
- Torso airbags - provides torso protection for front and back seat occupants (depends upon manufacturer).
- Head and torso combination airbags - provides torso and head protection for front seat occupants (typically).
Head and torso combination airbags
Curtain airbag and torso airbag.
# Knee airbag:-
Knee airbags help prevent injury to the driver's legs. The first car to have them was the 1996 kia sportage; they still remain rare.the airbag is located beneath the steering wheel."there has been much effort to protect the driver's knees and legs and a knee airbag worked well." since then certain models have also included front passenger knee airbags, which deploy near or over the glove compartment in a crash. Knee airbags are designed to reduce leg injury. The knee airbag has become increasingly common in the 2000s, with a large minority of cars featuring them on the driver side by 2010. Passenger knee airbags remain extremely rare.
Knee airbags
# Rear airbag:-
Rear curtain airbags cover the back window and rear center airbags cushion passengers from one another during an impact. Sometimes there are separate curtain airbags for front and rear passengers; sometimes one large curtain that runs the full length of the vehicle is installed.
Rear airbag
# Motorcycle airbags :-
Some motorcycles, such as the honda goldwing, now have airbags. The first were introduced in 2006.honda claims that sensors in the front forks can detect a severe frontal collision and decide when to deploy the airbag, absorbing some of the forward energy of the rider and reducing the velocity at which the rider may be thrown from the motorcycle.airbag suits have also been developed for use by motorcycle grand prix riders. They are connected to the motorcycle by a cable and deploy when the cable becomes detached from its mounting clip, inflating to protect the back.
airbag on motorcycle
