rmoore
03-19-1999, 10:11 AM
A Posting From Forum Moderator Ron Moore
The airbag is not hot, but the inflator is! That was the bottom line I learned after conducting tests on a 1994 Ford Taurus. Using a portable infared heat sensor unit from Raytek, I was able to record the temperature on the surface of a sodium azide airbag inflator unit immediately after airbag deployment.
Each front airbag on the Taurus was rigged to deploy separately. I stood ready with turnout gear on, eye protection, gloves and a rescue knife with serrated edges. I fired off the airbag, then immediately attacked it with the knife. I sliced into the bag along its top edge until I could see the metal canister of the airbag inflator unit deep inside.
By pointing the Raytek IR gun at this unit, the digital readout indicated the surface temperature of the inflator.
The driver's airbag module, a 3 & 1/2 inch round canister resembling a can of tuna, reached a surface temperature of over 550 degrees F during the first minute after deployment. Ten minutes later, this same unit yielded 250 degree F temperatures.
The passenger inflator unit, a long and slender unit resembling a thermos bottle or a can of spray paint in shape, recorded 730+ degrees F within the first minute and 350 degrees F ten minutes later.
Next crash where you think you smell something burning and the airbags have deployed, these two modules may be a good place to check. What you'll probably find is not a fire but a high heat, scorching or melting situation where the crumpled or crushed materials of the instrument panel or the edge of the nylon airbag have come in contact with the hot metal of the inflator units.
The airbag is not hot, but the inflator is! That was the bottom line I learned after conducting tests on a 1994 Ford Taurus. Using a portable infared heat sensor unit from Raytek, I was able to record the temperature on the surface of a sodium azide airbag inflator unit immediately after airbag deployment.
Each front airbag on the Taurus was rigged to deploy separately. I stood ready with turnout gear on, eye protection, gloves and a rescue knife with serrated edges. I fired off the airbag, then immediately attacked it with the knife. I sliced into the bag along its top edge until I could see the metal canister of the airbag inflator unit deep inside.
By pointing the Raytek IR gun at this unit, the digital readout indicated the surface temperature of the inflator.
The driver's airbag module, a 3 & 1/2 inch round canister resembling a can of tuna, reached a surface temperature of over 550 degrees F during the first minute after deployment. Ten minutes later, this same unit yielded 250 degree F temperatures.
The passenger inflator unit, a long and slender unit resembling a thermos bottle or a can of spray paint in shape, recorded 730+ degrees F within the first minute and 350 degrees F ten minutes later.
Next crash where you think you smell something burning and the airbags have deployed, these two modules may be a good place to check. What you'll probably find is not a fire but a high heat, scorching or melting situation where the crumpled or crushed materials of the instrument panel or the edge of the nylon airbag have come in contact with the hot metal of the inflator units.