Carbon Canisters and Graceful Safety Design

If the Titan submersible disaster taught us anything, it’s that carbon isn’t the right material for every job. Also, narcissistic autocracy isn’t a great CEO model. Still, even the Titan submersible pressure hull was capable of withstanding 3000 psi of pressure, roughly half of that at which it imploded. Incidentally, that’s also the filling pressure of an avalanche airbag canister.

While carbon may be poorly suited to the pressure hull of a millionaire’s deep sea submersible, its use in airbag backpacks has a lot to teach us about safety and how good engineering leads to beautiful simplicity. Today, we move through the three types of canisters in my possession and along the way understand the grace in their design.

But first, why even consider canisters? Most of modern airbag marketing is focused on electronic, fan-based systems. Most of these battery- or capacitor-based fans are capable of multiple deployments on a single charge, and they also get by without the annoyance of compressed gas, which can complicate air travel and necessitate refills after deployments. In the US, you can’t fly with a filled canister, which makes traveling with your airbag a pain. Thus the move towards the convenience offered by electricity.