ZF is to launch new airbag concepts, including a passenger and curtain airbag system with either V or U-shaped design features.
The supplier’s new airbag system is designed to better protect front seat occupants from serious injuries, even when the vehicle is struck head-on and from the left at 90 km/h (56 mph).
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This performance test scenario, known as the Oblique Moving Deformable Barrier (OMDB) will be added by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) for the North American New Car Assessment Programme (US NCAP) for new vehicles as of MY 2019.
Only passenger cars which successfully pass this new standard crash test will receive five stars in the US NCAP.
Starting from MY 2019, the organisation is planning to toughen those regulations by applying the OMDB crash test developed from oblique accident scenarios in North America.
“Our new system consisting of front and curtain airbags can help improve a vehicle’s safety performance in these crash test scenarios,” said ZF Airbags & Gas Generators, Active & Passive Safety Technology Division, head of global development, Dirk Schultz.
“The curtain airbags come with V or U-shaped airbag chambers and offer improved protection. There is opportunity for improvement on conventional airbags to help better protect an occupant in the OMDB scenario.
“After all, that test involves a moving deformable barrier weighing almost 2.5t striking a non-moving vehicle at 90 km/h head-on at an angle of 15 degrees and with a 35% overlap. In addition to this OMDB crash test, the NHTSA will also be deploying the new Test devices for Human Occupant Restraints (THOR) dummies.
“These are highly sensitive test devices that more accurately record how accidents affect the occupants. The comprehensive data we collected helped us determine what to focus on to help further improve safety.”
In the event of an OMDB-type crash, the new ZF airbags have an added function in that they can help to prevent the front occupants’ heads from hitting the dashboard or A-pillar. To achieve this, ZF enhanced the curtain airbags installed in the roof liners with a bag shape design.
When the airbags deploy, an additional safety cushion inflates next to the driver’s head. “In comprehensive test series, we have demonstrated this airbag geometry helps to enhance occupant safety,” noted Schultz. “It comes in a pointed V shape or a rounded U shape, depending on the vehicle’s interior design.”
To help better absorb the front seat passenger’s potentially extreme movement forward or to the left if a head-on or side crash occurs, ZF has developed its parallel cell front seat passenger airbag. It features a chamber design with a geometry widened towards the centre of the vehicle.
“This airbag concept helps to cushions the head’s rolling motion when it impacts the airbag at an angle – and is designed to reduce the risk of head injury,” added Schultz.
