Measurement of Sound Impulses Due to Airbag Deployment in a Standardized Enclosure

The consistent measurement of airbag deployment noise places special demands on the enclosure in which the measurements are performed. The acoustical characteristics of the enclosure must be stable over long periods. It must also be sufficiently robust to withstand the loads involved. The use of a standardized enclosure provides a uniform basis for comparable measurements in different laboratories. The reasons for selecting a specific small cabin as the standard enclosure are discussed in this paper.

Some examples of tests performed in the small cabin with a wide range of airbag systems are presented. High-speed film recordings of the deployment of the airbags were made simultaneously with the acoustic measurements. The stability of the acoustic environment and of the enclosure were important factors in obtaining reliable and comparable results.