• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.251-257
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• 2005

Several air cells are installed in the seat cushion to adjust the stiffness of seat by changing the air pressure. To select proper air pressure in the air cells, two kinds of tests are performed. For the pressure distribution on the seat, the maximum pressure and mean pressure are compared. And for the dynamic ride values, SEAT (Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility) values are calculated and compared. These experiments are carried out with three different drivers, three different vehicle speeds on the highway and two different speed on the primary road, and three different air pressures. From the real car tests, optimum air cell pressure depending on the vehicle speed and driver's weight are recommended.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.145-152
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• 2004

This paper compares seat vibrations of a small passenger car and a SUV. The results also include the comparison of the human body accelerations and the ride values, such as the component ride values, and SEAT values of 12 axis accelerations obtained at the human body and seat track. The ride comfort evaluation is usually carried out by experiments of real cars which are expensive and sometimes may contain errors by passenger's postures. Simulations by computer, on the other hand, enable to solve these problems when the accuracy is proven. This paper, thus, also shows the correlation of human body vibration between experiments and computer simulations. For the computer simulation, korean dummy models are developed from the Hybrid III models by scaling the body data of Hybrid III to those of Korean men and women. From the comparison between the test data and simulation data, a nice correlation in trends was shown.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.389-396
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• 2013

Objective: The ride qualities of the six passenger cars were evaluated in 4 subjects on the highway and uneven road. The relation between vibration with driving velocity and driving posture were also investigated separately. Background: Ride comfort plays an important role in the vehicle design. Vibration is the one of the principal components associated with ride comfort. Method: The acceleration of the foot, hip and back were measured using B&K accelerometers in this study. The velocity of the passenger cars was maintained at a constant speed of 80km/h on the highway and 40km/h on the uneven road. For evaluating the effects of driving velocity and driving posture on vehicle's vibration level, separate experiments were performed on the highway with 5 different vehicle speeds and 5 different backrest angles, respectively. Results: The overall ride value of the luxury car showed the best result while the smaller car showed the worst value on the highway. On the uneven road the overall ride value level was increased 75~98%. All the vehicles had the SEAT value less than 1. Faster the velocity lowers the SEAT value. The ride quality in terms of vibration gets worst when the backrest angle increased. Conclusion: The smaller car had a first mode at the higher frequency and showed higher vibration level. SEAT value was mostly affected by the seat property not by vehicle. We ranked the luxury car seat had a best vibration reduction quality than others based on SEAT values. When the driving velocity increased, the overall ride values were increased proportionally and the SEAT values were somewhat decreased. Application: Evaluation of whole-body vibration in the passenger car.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

A simplified model of seat-human body is presented to analyze vibrations of human body on a seat of vehicle. The theoretical model having seven degrees-of-freedom is composed of the inter-connected masses, springs and dampers. Until now, evaluation of ride comfort has been usually performed only through vehicle tests. This study aims to complement shortcomings of conventional vehicle tests in evaluation of ride comfort by using the theoretical model. The acceleration values of the human body are obtained from frequency response functions of the theoretical model. Thereafter, Ride and SEAT indexes are acquired by considering response characteristics of the human body for the 12 axes that are presented in BS 6841. A vehicle test is carried out to measure the acceleration values for the three parts of the human body such as upper body, hip and foot. Ride and SEAT indexes of the vehicle test are also obtained by considering the response characteristics of the human body, of which results are compared with the values from the theoretical model. It is found that the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2014

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate integral seat desk used in universities through comparison of real dimension values of the desk with KS/ISO standard and questionnaire survey. Background: School furniture that helps students sit comfortably for longer periods of time and allows for better concentration on learning is important. However, seat and desk have been generally designed based on the industry practice rather than user's anthropometry, and seats and desks used in universities of Korea have not been ergonomically evaluated. Method: Real 13 dimensions of the desk used in K University were measured using tape measure and inclinometer, and the dimension values were compared to the KS standard of desk and chair for lecture room (KS G 4210) and ergonomic design principles found in relevant references. Subjective appropriacies and preference for the desk were investigated based on questionnaire survey, in which 121 (male: 91, female: 30) college students participated. Results: Several dimensions for the desk and chair investigated except desk depth and width, leg room width, seat width have not met the KS standard, but all dimensions satisfied ergonomic design principles available in references. The questionnaire survey revealed that appropriacies for desk surface size, seat pan depth, seat pan cushion and backrest curvature were under middle point of 3.0, and that those for the other dimensions showed higher scores exceeding 3.0. Conclusion: The integral seat desk widely used in universities showed some design problems in terms of standards of KS G 2010 and KS G 4210, and ergonomic design principles. Compared to the general desk with separated desk and seat, subjective preference on the integral seat desk was low. Application: This would be used as a valuable guideline when designing or choosing new integral seat desk with high satisfaction of students.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2011

A driver interacts directly with the car seat at all times. There are ergonomic characteristics that have to be followed to produce comfortable seats. However, most of previous researches focused on either static or dynamic condition only. In addition, research on car seat development is critically lacking although Malaysia herself manufactures its own car. Hence, this paper integrates objective measurements and subjective evaluation to predict seat discomfort. The objective measurements consider both static and dynamic conditions. Steven's psychophysics power law has been used in which after expansion; ${\psi}\;=\;a+b{\varphi}_s^{\alpha}+c{\varphi}_v^{\beta}$ where ${\psi}$ is discomfort sensation, ${\varphi}_s^{\alpha}$ is static modality with exponent ${\alpha}$ and ${\varphi}_v^{\beta}$ is dynamic modality with exponent ${\beta}$. The subjects in this study were local and the cars used were Malaysian made compact car. Static objective measurement was the seat pressure distribution measurement. The experiment was carried out on the driver's seat in a real car with the engine turned off. Meanwhile, the dynamic objective measurement was carried out in a moving car on real roads. During pressure distribution and vibration transmissibility experiments, subjects were requested to evaluate their discomfort levels using vehicle seat discomfort survey questionnaire together with body map diagram. From subjective evaluations, seat pressure and vibration dose values exponent for static modality ${\alpha}$ = 1.51 and exponent for dynamic modality ${\beta}$ = 1.24 were produced. The curves produced from the $E_{q.s}$ showed better $R_{-sq}$ values (99%) when both static and dynamic modalities were considered together as compared to Eq. with single modality only (static or dynamic only R-Sq = 95%). In conclusion, car seat discomfort prediction gives better result when seat development considered both static and dynamic modalities; and using ergonomic approach.

• Journal of KSNVE
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.1025-1030
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• 1997

This paper introduces the experimental results of ride values assessed for several passenger cars. The experiment was conducted at four vehicles on two roads for three persons by measuring the acceleration in the 12-axis of human. The results include the comparison of the ride values, such as the component ride values, overall ride value, and seat effective amplitude transmissibiity. It is proved that acceleration between 1 and 15Hz is the most significant in evaluating the ride quality. The contribution of the acceleration in each measurement axis is quantified from the component ride value. SEAT value shows a relatively low sensitivity for the road condition and human mass.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06b
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• pp.584-589
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• 2001

This paper presents the dynamic parameter design optimization of a suspension seat system using the genetic algorithm. At first, an equivalent 1-D.O.F. mass-spring-damper model of a suspension seat system was constructed for the purpose of its vibration analysis. Vertical vibration response and transmissibility of the equivalent model due to base excitations, which are defined in the ISO's seat vibration test codes, were computed. Furthermore, seat vibration test, that is ISO's damping test, was carried out in order to investigate the validity of the equivalent suspension seat model. Both analytical and experimental results showed good agreement each other. For the design optimization, the acceleration transmissibility of the suspension seat model was adopted as an object function. A simple genetic algorithm was used to search the optimum values of the design variables, suspension stiffness and damping coefficient. Finally, vibration ride performance test results showed that the optimum suspension parameters gives the lowest vibration transmissibility. Accordingly the genetic algorithm and the equivalent suspension seat modelling can be successfully adopted in the vibration ride quality optimization of a suspension seat system.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.327-334
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• 1998

This work was intended to determine the optimum values of the cab suspension parameters by a simulation method in order to minimize the seat accelerations of agricultural tractors in the frequencies lower than 50Hz. A dynamic model of cab motions was developed and verified using a tractor excited over half-sine bumps on a concrete test road. A simulation program based on the model was also developed. A method was proposed to determine the optimum values of the suspension parameters. It was found that the natural frequencies of the cab and seat suspensions must be apart as far as possible until the sum of seat and cab accelerations is minimized, which also reduces the seat accelerations maximally.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2016

The wear characteristics of metal ball and seat in a metal-seated ball valve significantly affect the performances such as leakage and valve torque. In this work, the wear characteristics of metal ball and seat are experimentally investigated. A stainless steel ball and seat with a high corrosion-resistant coating are prepared and a component level test was performed. The hardness and surface roughness of specimens cut from the metal ball and seat are measured before and after the test using a micro-Vickers hardness tester and confocal microscopy, respectively. In order to assess the wear characteristics, the surfaces of the specimens are carefully examined after the test. The confocal microscope data show that the surface roughness values of both the ball and seat increase by a factor of 3-4, which may lead to an increase in valve torque. However, the wear of the seat is found to be more significant than that of the ball. In addition, a comparison of the surfaces of the ball and seat before and after testing revealed that adhesive and abrasive wear are the major wear mechanisms. The results of this study may aid in the design of metal-seated ball valves from the tribological point of view.