Citation

Vijayan A, Jadhav A, Padhye R. J. Australas. Coll. Road Saf. 2016; 27(1): 33-38.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Australasian College of Road Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the event of a collision, the safe and reliable deployment of side-torso airbags through removable car seat covers that use tear-seam technology has been recently questioned. It is well known that a side-torso airbag system in automotive seats can reduce injuries and prevent fatalities in the event of a collision. Removable car seat covers suitable for side-torso airbag systems are popular accessories in the automotive industry from the perspective of upholstery protection and aesthetics. This study demonstrated a better-suited technology in which laser ablation down the side panel of removable car seat covers, produced a pre-determined strength within a weakened zone that allowed a reliable airbag deployment in the event of a collision. This paper investigates the effect of laser power as a key factor in the laser ablation process and its influence on the bursting strength of the car seat cover materials. The laser-ablation of the removable car seat covers can ensure the consistent airbag deployment under environmental conditions ranging between as ambient, cold and hot. The durability and deployment performance of these car seat covers after UV exposure were also investigated.

Language: en