Laboratory Test Requirements for Marine Shock Isolation Seats

Establishing practical testing procedures, instrumentation system guidance, data processing requirements, and test criteria to demonstrate the effectiveness of a passive seat in reducing simulated wave impact loads in a laboratory before installation in a high-speed planing craft.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, West Bethesda, Maryland

This research provides preliminary guidance for laboratory testing of marine shock isolation seats. The purpose of the test is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a passive seat in reducing simulated wave impact loads in a laboratory before installation in a high-speed planing craft.

Small craft that operate at high speeds in rough seas subject the crew and passengers to wave impacts that may cause extreme discomfort. Craft designers therefore often include shock isolation seats to mitigate these negative effects. Current design practice is to install seats that employ springs and dampers (i.e., shock absorber) or leaf-spring assemblies as protection mechanisms. They are referred to as passive seats because the spring-damper assembly responds to individual wave impacts with no active elements that change in real time to adapt to the environment.