Predicting Ride Comfort on Seat Using Explicit FEM Code

The response behavior of the seat under the buttocks of an occupant relative to input from under the floor as measured in a vehicle running on a specified test course was simulated using an automobile seat model that can simultaneously take into account both the static and dynamic characteristics of urethane and an occupant model that was created based on a human body model used for collision analysis. The results confirmed that the seat shows good response in an experiment in which acceleration is input under the buttocks of the occupant. By combining the FEM technique reported in this article with the quantitative relationship between the test subject's sensory evaluation and the acceleration that is input under the occupant's buttocks, it is possible to predict the ride comfort performance of a developed vehicle in advance.