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Airbag Inflator's

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by DoubleD33, Apr 30, 2020.

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  1. DoubleD33

    DoubleD33 F1 Rookie
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    May 2, 2012
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    Pasadena, CA / Oahu, HI
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    Dan D
    #1 DoubleD33, Apr 30, 2020
    In reading about the airbag recall I went down a rabbit hole and did a lot of reading on airbag inflator s. It seems the recalled ones used ammonium nitrate that can be unstable in certain environments. I also got into the engineering of how the wafers of explosive are packed in etc... The conclusion I got is that the airbag charges will go bad over time (determined by the environmental conditions) and possibly need to be replaced.

    I pose the questions-

    What are other methods / chemicals used to inflate airbags?

    Is there a company that is working on an aftermarket inflator that uses a longer lasting or more stable technology?
     
  2. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Bubba
    #2 BigTex, Apr 30, 2020
    Well the Big View is that they are taking out your "old ones" and giving you "new ones" for the appropriate applications.

    I have not seen any of the fatals that caused the Recall, but a neighbor moving her car in the high waters of Hurricane Harvey blew both of hers at once as water came up her hood, and it looked like two .12 GA Deer Slugs thru her windshield, as thankfully they went "straight up".

    It's almost mandated to be explosives' in my mind as I don't think the C02 "WhipIts" that power the cake icing systems will have enough volume for the bag??
     
  3. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Bubba
    #3 BigTex, Apr 30, 2020
    The reason for the recall was not the technology. It was the mounting and dislodgement of the cannisters themselves, as I describe above.

    There were some poor folks that caught the flying slug in the face or the neck, and bled out, belted in, during an accident they would have otherwise survived....
     
  4. thorn

    thorn F1 Rookie
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    #4 thorn, May 8, 2020
    There's actually more than one reason for the recalls. One is due to the shrapnel; another is due to degradation due to high humidity environments. I've actually replaced replacement airbags ... tres fun.
     

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