Overpressure and noise due to multiple airbag systems in a passenger car

Abstract

Multiple airbag systems in passenger cars can generate overpressure and noise that may be hazardous to human hearing. Overpressure is compression of the air inside a closed compartment caused by deployment of the bags. Noise results from the action of the gas inflating the bags. SAE J247 provides a standard for measuring the combination of overpressure and noise in a passenger compartment. A special microphone has recently been developed that meets this standard, which operates down to a fraction of a hertz. Details of the microphone are given. Little appears to have been published on the overpressure and noise of modern multiple airbag systems, but early results [R. Hickling, ‘‘The noise of the automotive safety air cushion,’’ Noise Control Eng., May–June, 110–121 (1976)] provide a basic understanding of the phenomenon. Spectral data shows that peak overpressure occurs at about 2 to 3 Hz. A significant reduction in overpressure and noise can be achieved with an aspirating airbag, originally developed at General Motors, whose outer structure is inflated with gas from the inflator, and whose inner structure draws in air from the passenger compartment through one-way cloth valves. Tests have shown that such bags function well when impacted.