Welding & Gases Today Editor’s Blog 
  

Cool compressed oxygen released from under-seat gas cylinders

Ford Motor Company is bringing to market the world’s first automotive inflatable seat belts, combining attributes of traditional seat belts and air bags to provide an added level of crash safety protection for rear seat occupants.

The advanced restraint system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers—often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries.

Vehicle safety sensors determine the severity of the collision in the blink of an eye and deploy the inflatable belts’ air bags.  Each belt’s tubular air bag inflates with cold compressed oxygen, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat.

The inflatable belt’s accordion-folded bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with air, expanding sideways across the occupant’s body in about the same amount of time it takes a car traveling at highway speed to cover a yard of distance.

The use of cold compressed gas instead of a heat-generating chemical reaction—which is typical of traditional air bag systems—means the inflated belts feel no warmer on the wearer’s body than the ambient temperature. The inflatable belt also fills at a lower pressure and a slower rate than traditional air bags because the device does not need to close a gap between the belt and the occupant.

The inflated belt helps distribute crash force energy across five times more of the occupant’s torso than a traditional belt, which expands its range of protection and reduces risk of injury by diffusing crash pressure over a larger area, while providing additional support to the head and neck. After deployment, the belt remains inflated for several seconds before dispersing its air through the pores of the air bag.

Ford is introducing inflatable rear seat belts on the new Ford Explorer, which goes into production this year for the North American market. Ford eventually plans to offer the technology in vehicles globally.

A major problem captains of merchant ships face in dealing with piracy is that they are restricted by international law as to what force they can use to protect their vessels, particularly in the use of lethal firearms. In addition, using firearms could encourage pirates to fire back—a dangerous scenario for tankers carrying flammable oil or similar cargo.

In response to this problem, BCB International has created the Buccaneer Ship-Borne Shore Launcher, a cannon device that provides ships at sea with a means of at-sea rescue or a deterrent against attacks by pirates.

Using either compressed gas from cylinders or a ship’s compressed air system, the Buccaneer can deploy anything from single-man life rafts, lines or netting to solid projectiles up to a range of 350 yards.

In the case of piracy, the idea is that if an unwelcomed vessel approaches, a length of rope or netting can be fired from the Buccaneer into the boat’s path. A parachute attached to the rope allows it to land on to the surface of the water.

With little time to react, the pirate vessel speeds over the rope and entangles its propellers, rendering the boat powerless. With the pirate craft incapacitated, the target ship is able to escape the threat unharmed.