Pressure waves influence on performance of a pyrotechnically driven device

This paper contains an experimental investigation of a movable wall with variable shape response to a shock wave. Here, the shock wave was generated by a pyrotechnic gas generator used in the automotive industry. The test station consists on a pyrotechnic actuator in which the movable wall is expressed as a piston. This pyrotechnic actuator was specially design for such type of an investigation. Its design allows withstanding numerous tests without affecting the accuracy. What was under investigation here was the actuators piston stroke velocity and which, as it appeared, changes with respect to the various shape of the actuators interior as well as a corresponding to the barrier velocity total pressure existing within the expansion chamber of the actuator. The results shown here correspond to the flat surface as well as conical and concave cylinder bottom of the actuator. The conical and flat piston surface is considered as a reference for subsequent investigation because such a design is the most similar to the existing pyrotechnically driven designs. The experimental research proves that the performance of pyrotechnically driven devices is dependent upon the shock wave shaping.