화학공학소재연구정보센터
Combustion Science and Technology, Vol.122, No.1-6, 305-330, 1997
Performance and CO production of a non-azide airbag propellant in a pre-pressurized gas generator
This paper presents a numerical study of the transient operation of a pre-pressurized (augmented) airbag inflater. Augmented inflaters dilute hot gaseous products of propellant combustion with ambient temperature, high-pressure stored gas before discharging the mixture into the airbag. The solid propellant selected for this study is a non-azide propellant composed of a mixture of azodicarbonimide, potassium perchlorate, and cupric oxide. Predicted performance of the inflater is presented in terms of pressure, temperature and mass flow rate profiles in the inflater and discharge tank which is used to simulate an airbag. This work also predicts first-order estimates of gas-phase species exit concentrations and characteristic residence times in the inflator. Carbon monoxide, produced as a product of combustion from the high flame temperature propellant, is partially converted to CO2 as it flows from an internal combustion chamber to the pressurized plenum before being discharged into the airbag. Specifically, the production/destruction of CO is tracked using three different gas-phase reaction models: 1) chemically frozen, 2) local (shifting) equilibrium, and 3) finite-rate elementary kinetics. Results presented in this paper demonstrate the necessity of an airbag combustion program that includes finite-rate, gas-phase kinetics. Results from the finite-rate CO chemistry model are qualitatively consistent with experimental results reported by others for the same propellant formulation in a similar operating environment.