Experimental Shock Analysis and Determination of Dynamical Properties of Airbags

Airbags are very important in reducing the impact on the aircrafts. Their main function is reducing the velocity to zero with the least impact on the vehicle. The aim of current study is two-fold. Firstly, using drop test, dynamical properties (stiffness and damping) of airbags are experimentally found. Secondly, with the suitable measurements, shock response spectrum is plotted to determine the severity of the applied shock in the dropping process. This is an appropriate means in analysis and design of airbags and it is carried out for the first time in the present paper. A drop test apparatus was used for carrying out the experiments, and the airbag in the drop process is modelled as a single degree of freedom model. To determine the shock response spectrum, numerical simulation is applied to solve the differential equation of motion. Using an empirical criterion and shock response spectrum data, critical region of the applied shock is obtained. This study shows that the drop test is an important technique in determining dynamical properties of airbags, and can be useful especially in aero, vehicle and many other industrial activities.