Experimental study on cushioning characteristics of soft landing airbag

A landing impact test facility was designed and constructed in order to investigate the cushioning characteristics of soft landing airbag. A constant-vented airbag under various landing conditions was tested to evaluate the influences of pop pressure, venting orifice area and initial inflation pressure on cushioning characteristics. Experimental results show that the venting orifice area is a key parameter to affect the cushioning characteristics, and the maximum deceleration decreases with the increase in venting orifice area, but at the same time the ending velocity of the payload increases. In the design of soft landing airbag, the pop pressure also needs to be optimally determined. If the pop pressure is too high, the impact energy can't be released in time, and the airbag rebounds. But if the pop pressure is too small, the impact energy is not fully transferred to airbag attenuation system, and the ending velocity of the payload exceeds the limit. The maximum deceleration decreases with the increase in initial inflation pressure, but the influence of initial inflation pressure is not as sensitive as pop pressure and venting orifice.