Seat to Head Transmissibility during Exposure to Vertical Seat Vibration: Effects of Posture and Vibration Magnitude

Abstract

The low frequency vibration transmitted to the body can affect the comfort, performance, and health of humans. In this paper, the effect of variations in posture and vibration magnitude on the head motion in three translational axes (fore-and-aft, lateral and vertical) has been studied with a vertical seat vibration. Thirty healthy male subjects were exposed to random vibration with three vibration magnitudes of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 m/s2 rms over the frequency range of 1–20 Hz. The results are analysed in terms of seat-to-head-transmissibility (STHT) for the head motions in two seated postures (backrest and leaning forward on table). The measurement of the head motion was made with an apparatus (bite-bar) specifically developed for this purpose. The measured responses to a single axis seat vibration have also shown notable cross-axis responses in both vertical and fore-and-aft axes for both postures. The crossaxis fore-aft and vertical STHT responses showed single peak near 5 Hz in both postures. An increasing intensity of vibration yields a non-linear softening effect in the muscle tension, particularly in the presence of back support, however, the body stiffens under a greater upper body motion in the forward leaning posture. The combined effect of the unsupported back and hands support was observed to be more pronounced around the resonance peak in the forward lean posture.