Realistic simulation models for airbags and humans-new possibilities and limits of FE simulation

New simulation tools and modelling techniques have been developed in recent years to predict injury risks for Out-Of-Position (OOP) occupants. These developments include the integration of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) into Finite-Element simulations of airbag deployment, realistic folding of airbag models and refined models for dummies and humans. This contribution surveys the current state of these new techniques and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. In the first part of the paper, the integration of the Finite-Point-Method (FPM) for CFD analysis within FEM simulations is discussed and demonstrated for the deployment of a curtain airbag manufactured by Autoliv B.V. & Co. KG. In the second part, the influence of the generator housing on the unfolding process is presented for the impact of an inflating passenger bag against a body block. Simulation results clearly show the current limiations of CFD methods for airbag inflation problems. In the third section, several aspects of the computation of injury criteria and the advantages of human models over dummies are discussed.