Mass flow measurements on airbag inflators

The simulation of the performance of restraint systems and airbag systems is becoming more important in the field of the safety technology. Tank tests are used in the automotive industry since decades as a method to estimate the mass flow from airbag inflators. The aim of this study in cooperation with AUDI AG is to apply a new mass flow determination method developed at Fraunhofer ICT (Institute for Chemical Technology) that should improve the accuracy of the measurements for special simulation scenarios. This brand new measurement system consists of two different experimental set ups and the cross-validation of the obtained results. The validation of the new method is carried out by integrating the mass flow curves of several airbag inflators obtained by this method and the mass flow curves of the same inflators obtained by the test tank method. The results revealed the suitability of the method, as well as an outstanding increase on the accuracy of the measurements when compared to those obtained by the test tank method.