AB Pcle Symbols: Managing Airbag Particle Display

AB Pcle Symbols: Managing Airbag Particle display

Airbag particles can be thought of as small spheres of gas emitted from an inflator to apply pressure inside an airbag. D3PLOT treats them as "elements" for display and contouring purposes.

They are rendered using symbols that are the same as those used for SPH elements. However the two element types are highly unlikely to appear in the same analysis, and their relative sizes are also likely to be very different, so despite the potential for confusion this similarity is not a problem.

Airbag particles start off "latent" at the beginning of an analysis, and then burst into life as the analysis proceeds and the inflator releases them into the bag. An inflator may have several separate "gases", and particles will belong to a particular "gas".

Once "alive" particles will start off inside the bag, but they may escape from it either by migrating through porous fabric or by traveling through a vent hole, and their "leakage" value will change to reflect this status.

In addition particles may be "near" to the bag fabric, and hence exerting pressure upon it, or "distant" and not affecting the fabric directly.