R. Meyer J. Köhler A. Homburg Explosives

285 SINCO ® Ignition booster and gas mixture for motor vehicle safety
Single Base Powders
Nitrocellulose-Pulver; poudre à simple base
Such powders mainly consist of nitrocellulose and stabilizers as well
as other additives such as dinitrotoluene in some formulations. Nitrocellulose
is gelatinized with the aid of solvents, mostly etheralcohol
mixtures, and additives are incorporated and gelatinized by prolonged
kneading. The mixture is shaped into tubes, perforated tubes, flakes,
etc., by extrusion and cutting, and the solvents are removed by evaporation,
displacement by warm water, vacuum drying, etc., and the
material is surface-treated. The purpose of the surface treatment is to
let phlegmatization agents diffuse into the material, thus retarding the
combustion rate in the surface layers and to attain a progressive
burning rate (W Progressive Burning Powders).
SINCO ® Ignition booster and gas mixture for motor vehicle
safety
SINCO ® was developed by the Dynamit Nobel GmbH Company as an
environmentally compatible and particularly stable class of substances
for rapid gas evolution. It involves a pyrotechnic gas mixture
based on nitrogen-rich fuels and oxygen carriers as reactants. A solid
combustion residue consisting essentially of alkali carbonates, nontoxic
gas products consisting of nitrogen, water vapour, carbon dioxide
and oxygen together with heat are liberated during the reaction between
fuels and the oxygen carriers.
The gas mixtures themselves are free from heavy metals and have
high toxicological compatibility. In the acute oral toxicity test carried out
according to the EU Directive, the LD50 value was greater than
2500 mg/kg.
In addition the pyrotechnic mixtures are characterised by high thermal
stability. This is also necessary in order to guarantee a constant
reaction characteristic over a long period of time and even after
thermal stressing.
Stable reaction of the mixtures is possible only with tamping. This
property reduces the potential risk that may occur in the event of
improper handling or possible misuse.
Because of its properties, SINCO ® is suitable for personal protection
in passive safety systems in motor vehicles. In addition to the use of
SINCO ® in pressure elements for seat-belt tensioners or lock tensioners,
the gas mixture is also suitable for driver and passenger gas
generators. In this case the mixture also performs the function of a
booster charge in the igniter elements of the gas generators in addition
to the main task of gas evolution.