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“Accelerometer for
Airbag Activation in
Automobile”
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UMT, SIALKOT.
Accelerometer for Airbag Activation in 3

Automobile
 Presentators : Ahmed Naeem [17004134-006]
Mohammad Hussnain [17004134-004]
 Course : Instrumentation And Control Systems
 Resourse Person : Sir Fahad Sheikh
 Program : BS ME (Batch #4; 2017-2021)
Accelerometer : 4

 An accelerometer is an electromechanical device used to measure

acceleration forces. Such forces may be static, like the continuous
force of gravity or, as is the case with many mobile devices,
dynamic to sense movement or vibrations. Several devices, part of
the quantified self movement, use accelerometers.

 Acceleration is the measurement of the change in velocity, or

speed divided by time. For example, a car accelerating from a
standstill to 60 mph in six seconds is determined to have an
acceleration of 10 mph per second (60 divided by 6).
Purpose Of Accelerometer 5

 The application of accelerometers extends to multiple

disciplines, both academic and consumer-driven. For example,
accelerometers in laptops protect hard drives from damage.
 Accelerometers are likewise used in cars as the industry
method way of detecting car crashes and deploying airbags
almost instantaneously.
Working Principles: 6

 An accelerator looks like a simple circuit for some larger electronic

device.
 Despite its humble appearance, the accelerometer consists of many
different parts and works in many ways, two of which are the piezoelectric
effect and the capacitance sensor. The piezoelectric effect is the most
common form of accelerometer and uses microscopic crystal structures
that become stressed due to accelerative forces. These crystals create a
voltage from the stress, and the accelerometer interprets the voltage to
determine velocity and orientation.
Working Principles: 7

 The capacitance accelerometer senses changes in capacitance

between microstructures located next to the device. If an
accelerative force moves one of these structures, the
capacitance will change and the accelerometer will translate
that capacitance to voltage for interpretation.
Application Of Accelerometer In Airbag 8

- The Macro Case:

 Accelerometers are used in Air Bag deploying systems. The basic
configuration of an accelerometer is shown in the following figure.
 It consist of the 3 components:-
 Inertial Mass
 Suspension.
 Sensing Element.
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 The suspension supports the inertial mass and will deflect under
the acceleration.
 Sensing elements will transducer the deflection of the suspension
to an electric signal.
 The transduction can be implemented using Piezo resistive, Piezo
electric or capacitive means.
 The relative displacement ‘z’ can be represented as z=x-y where x
and y represent the inertial mass and the motion of the housing
system.
Application Of Accelerometer In Airbag 10

- The Macro Approach:

 Micro mechanical capacitive structure where devices is divided into
two parts:-
 Mechanical Capacitive sensor.
 Signal Detection Circuit.
 The Mechanical Structure is made up of polysilicon material about
2um thick.
 A central mass plate with finger on both sides is suspended over
substrate by multiple thin tethers. The mass plate can be displayed
by an inertial force in the surface plate and in perpendicular to the
tether.
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 The Internal movable plates move with the movement of mass

attached with the springs to the outer plates.
 A change in capacitance takes place and then the displacement
from change in capacitance and acceleration from displacement
can be obtained.
 The ACU (Airbag control unit) has all the necessary required
circuity installed components.
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 As an anchored mass moves relative to the sensor’s body due to acceleration, a

plate attached to the anchored mass moves closer to a stationary plate.
 The change in distance between the plates affects the capacitance of the sensor,
or the ability to hold an electrical charge. This change in capacitance is easily
measured and is then converted to a change in voltage.
 The voltage change is directly correlated to force due to acceleration, and the
readings are interpreted as acceleration by the air bag control module.
 Using an algorithm, the control module can determine if air bag deployment is
necessary based on the pattern of the acceleration pulses over time.
ADXL-50 MEM: 14
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 Algorithm Flow Chart for

US Patent 5948032 [Huang]
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 It is generally initiated when two consecutive acceleration pulses less

than (approximately ) -1.0 g for smaller vehicles or less than
(approximately ) -2.0 g for larger vehicles, occur within a short period
of time (10 milliseconds) . After system wake-up from a pulse
exceeding the deceleration threshold (stand-by mode), a decision is
made to either fire the air bag or return to normal state.
 Using the NHTSA guideline for an air bag to deploy in frontal barrier
collisions within impact speeds of 8 to 14 mph, a range of threshold
values can be estimated using known vehicle stiffness-to-weight ratios.
 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Air Bag Sensor 17

 In the air bag sensor, the operation takes place as explained in the
following points:-
 When car hits something, it start to de accelerate i.e. it loses speed
very rapidly. An accelerometer detects the change in speed.
 If the de acceleration is high enough, then the accelerometers
triggers the air bag circuit. The air bag circuits pass an electric
current through a heating element.
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 The heating element ignites a chemical explosive. As the explosive burner,

it generates a massive amount of harmless gas, typically nitrogen or Argon
that floods into a nylon bag passed behind the steering wheel.
 As the bag expands, it blows the plastic cover of the steering wheel and
inflates in front of the driver. The driver moves forward due to the impact
and pushes against the bag.
 This will deflate the bag, the gas will escape through small holes around its
edges. When the car stops, the bag may be completely deflated.
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 Sodium metal may react with the hydrogen in air to produce a

corrosive sodium hydroxide.
 Potassium Nitrate
 Silicon Di-oixide
 Other chemical than Sodium Azide is Guanidine Nitrate.
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Jazak ALLAH…! 