Numerical and experimental assessment of the performance of wearable airbags for motorcycle riders

Wearable airbags are relatively recent for the motorcycle-garments industry, and their development still rely mainly on trial and error through experimental testing. The application of numerical simulation is still in its infancy. The present work aims at assessing the performance of wearable airbags for motorcycle riders. The model of an existing airbag is built and simulated on two typical test scenarios. The results are compared to the corresponding experimental findings. The first scenario is derived from the drop test used for certifications according to EN 1621. The results are used to calibrate the virtual model and to estimate the bag material properties by comparison of numerical and simulated anvil peak force. In the second scenario the airbag model is fitted on a Hybrid III 50th dummy model and validated in a thorax impact test, according to 49 CFR 572. Such test has been performed and simulated both with airbag and without airbag to assess the airbag contribution – the focus is on the dummy’s chest deflection. Finally, 49 CFR 572 along with its low-speed variant (SAE J2779) are simulated to perform a parametric analysis on the effect of inflation pressure and inflated thickness on the airbag performance.