TRW’s dual stage inflators are an important element in today’s advanced occupant safety systems. These inflators help to tailor the protection based on the circumstances of a frontal crash.

Dual stage inflators, which have been widely introduced, are among the latest safety innovations of the last decade. These inflators allow airbag deployment to be tailored to crash severity, occupant size and other factors based on the types of sensing information available within the vehicle's occupant safety system.

A dual stage inflator allows for differing airbag inflation rates. It can fire only one stage of the inflator’s gas generant in the case of a less severe impact or smaller stature passenger, or can use both stages for full inflation of the airbag in more severe impacts or for larger size passengers.