Rapid Development of Multiple Fold Patterns for Airbag Simulation in LS-DYNA Using Oasys Primer

The creation of folded meshes for airbag deployment simulations is a time consuming task. The fold pattern has a significant effect on the speed and shape of deployment of the airbag, and therefore should be modelled when prediction of deployment timing is required, as is the case with out of position analysis for FMVSS 208. To investigate changes in fold patterns or airbag shape involves repeating the entire airbag mesh process for each modification. This paper describes a new mesh-independent folding tool in Oasys Primer that can speed up the modelling process. The time required for each operation is quantified for a variety of fold patterns on a thorax bag. Finally, a driver airbag is inflated using LS-DYNA’s ALE gas flow capability, and the deployment timing compared between mechanical and traditional zig-zag fold patterns.