Side impact crashes account for 25% of all fatalities with frontal impact, such as head-on collisions accounting for the majority. In the U.S., rollover accidents, caused by many means, result in 10,600 deaths. More than half of these fatalities are due to head injuries. Also in the U.S., there are 53,000 ejections of an occupant outside the vehicle with 6,000 of these ejections through the side window.
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DuPont is actively working with the OEMs, safety system suppliers and fabric mills to develop new side air bag systems and curtains that will require less space for storage and save final costs. DuPont conducts development testing in three technical centers around the world and is studying ways to improve the design and function of deployment canisters, diffuser tubes and other components in engineering plastics.
Rarely does one component act effectively alone. In the case of side air curtains, studies conducted by NHTSA to date indicate that advanced laminated glass interlayered with DuPont SentryGlas® composite or SentryGlas® Plus ionoplast offer an extra safety feature in side impact and rollover accidents. The advanced laminated glass offers a reaction surface for the air curtain to help prevent partial or complete ejections in most rollover situations whether the side curtain deploys or not. Also there is less potential for severe lacerations from broken glassthan with a regular glass window. And to help provide reliable sensing of a side impact or potential rollover, DuPont microcircuit materials will be employed in sensors that must operate over temperature extremes with exposure to road vibration and chemical substances. The miniaturization potential of DuPont low-temperature-cure ceramics (LTCC) will allow more freedom to optimally locate sensors where they will perform the best.
DuPont is not stopping there. We’re looking at ways our technologies, including engineering plastics, advanced composite materials such as Kevlar® aramid fiber, can make side doors, pillars and headliners better shield and cushion occupants. We are imagining ways we can contribute to new designs for seats, floor mats and other interior components so they can reconfigure to offer sensor activated protection immediately before and during a crash, again employing our films and microcircuit materials for advanced occupant sensors.
