Dibya Jyoti Ghosh Period 4 4/10/13

Designing a Model Airbag for Automobile Safety

In the laboratory experiment, Designing a Model Airbag for Automobile Safety, our lab group was charged with the task of designing an effective airbag using Ziploc bags, Acetic acid, and sodium carbonate. Understanding that the double reaction of sodium carbonate and acetic acid Na 2CO3 + 2CH3COOH(aq) CO2 (g) + 2 NaCH3COO(aq) releases carbon dioxide, we formed an airbag that would trigger an reaction upon impact, and would inflate the Ziploc bag to full capacity. Since the maximum weight of the airbag is 40g, we attempted to use as much of the reactants to maximize the volume created. We used our pre-lab questions to calculate how much of each reactant we needed. Then, we ran tests to ensure that the reaction would not happen accidentally, and trigger before an accident. We added the acetic acid at the bottom of the Ziploc bag, and then rolled up the Ziploc bag, ensuring that none would creep up toward the top of the bag. Ensuring the isolation of the acetic acid, we added the sodium carbonate, then sealing up the bag. Upon impact, the Ziploc bag will flatten out, allowing the acetic acid to react with the sodium carbonate. Having been given 4 plastic Ziploc bags, we qualitatively analyzed the amount of gas produced in such a reaction, and whether any gas was seeping out using three of these Ziploc bags. After ensuring that the mass of the airbag was under 40g, we then proceeded to initiate our formal test. In order to get the maximum volume, our lab group used 6.99 g of sodium carbonate and 25.2 mL of acetic acid. When placed inside the Ziploc bag, the airbag ended up weighing 39.505g, which is close to the limit set by the design criteria. When conducting our formal test, our airbag displaced 8.0 cm of water in a beaker. According to stoichiometry calculations, our reaction generated 1.48 L of carbon dioxide. However the amount of carbon dioxide produced, the quality of the airbag that we designed would not be a good automobile airbag. Not only did our airbag setup trigger upon the slightest impact, but the time taken for the reaction was too long for an actual car crash. An automobile airbag needs to be able to inflate at the right times, something our airbag was not able to accomplish. A car collision can be over in less than two seconds, and our airbag took at least 30 seconds to completely inflate. To add onto all of this, the Ziploc bag was so inflated, if a persons head hit the Ziploc bag, then it would explode and immediately deflate. Overall, this experiment was a great introduction to automobile safety, but our final design prototype needs multiple revisions before it can be considered as a fully functioning automobile airbag.