A BODY MASS DEPENDENT MECHANICAL IMPEDANCE MODEL FOR APPLICATIONS IN VIBRATION SEAT TESTING

A three degree-of-freedom model is proposed to predict the biodynamic responses of the seated human body of different masses. A baseline model is initially derived to satisfy both the mean apparent mass and seat-to-head transmissibility responses proposed in ISO/DIS 5982:2000 applicable for mean body mass of 75 kg. The validity of the resultant generic mass dependent model is verified by comparing the apparent mass and driving-point mechanical impedance responses computed for total body masses of 55, 75 and 90 kg with the range of idealized values proposed for body masses within the 49–93 kg range. Considering the lack of data that could be found to define the apparent mass/mechanical impedance of subjects with different body masses when applying the experimental conditions defined in ISO/DIS 5982:2000, an attempt is made to adapt the parameters of the base model to fit the measured apparent mass data applicable to groups of automobile occupants within different mass ranges. This is achieved through constrained parametric optimization which consists of minimizing the sum of squared errors between the computed response and the mean apparent mass data measured for automobile occupants within four mass groups: less than 60 kg, 60·5–70·5 kg, 70·5–80 kg and above 80 kg. The results show a reasonably good agreement between the model responses and the measured apparent mass data, particularly at frequencies below 10 Hz. The results suggest that the proposed mass dependent model can effectively predict the apparent mass responses of automobile occupants over a wide range of body masses and for two different postures: passenger (hands-in-lap) and driver (hands-on-steering wheel) postures.