New trends for pyrotechnic automotive safety in the European union

Lionel Aufauvre (1)

1 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques

In the European Union (EU) pyrotechnic articles are subjected to comply with national regulations in addition to a series of EU Directives. In order to harmonize regulations in the EU, the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles is going to fall under the scope of a new European Directive. Among these articles, one finds pyrotechnic components of automotive safety equipment such as gas generators or igniters. In the very fast growing market of automotive safety industry, regulations might be perceived as non-technical barriers to innovation in the field. Conversely, through innovation arguments, industries sometimes try to promote specific cases of exemptions to comply various regulations. In a broad approach, we examine both regulation and industrial recent repercussions in the field of pyrotechnic devices for automotive safety, as these points of view face each other too often. Considerations regarding design, transport classification, approvals, safety features, environmental issues and treatment of end-life waste disposal are provided along the life cycle of the products. We enlighten needs in term of harmonized standards and technical procedures to answer regulation requirements. Such needs bring new perspectives and make room to various stakeholders for possible and efficient developments.

Mots clés: PYROTECHNICS; SAFETY; EU DIRECTIVES; CARS; AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Lionel Aufauvre. New trends for pyrotechnic automotive safety in the European union. 33. International Pyrotechnics Seminar (IPS 2006), Jul 2006, Fort Collins, United States. pp.509-512. ⟨ineris-00976173⟩