JES

Japan Explosive Society

Technical committee on pyro-technique safety devices and systems for mobility

Chair, Shogo Tomiyama

Outline and activities

Among automotive safety parts related to explosives societies are airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, and others. Needless to say, the inflators used to deploy airbags, the gas generators used to drive seatbelt pretensioners, and their igniters are pyrotechnic devices, which guarantee rapid actuation, accurate operation, and high reliability. Currently, the installation rate of driver-side airbags in new cars has reached almost 100%, and the number of airbags installed in passenger, side, and rear passenger seats continues to increase, making it one of the most important areas for the explosives industry. Meanwhile, Japan is the inventor of automotive airbags and a pioneer in this field, as it was one of the first countries to focus attention on the toxicity of sodium azide, the main ingredient of gas generators for inflators, and was the first country in the world to abolish its use. Recently, however, automotive safety parts using pyrotechnics for headrests, roll bars, steering columns, etc. have been introduced one after another from overseas, and the delay in development in this field has become conspicuous.

In this technical committee, we share information on automotive safety parts in the world, predict the direction of new product development, and build a bridge between industry, government, and academia for the development of next-generation automotive safety parts and their application. In addition, we actively hold lectures, tours, and publish newsletters.