Analysis of Energy-Absorbing Seat Configurations

Since amendment of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to require dynamic testing of aircraft seats, there has been increased interest among airframe and seat manufacturers in development of new energy-absorbing seat concepts with lower weight than earlier configurations, In order to efficiently model these new seat concepts, new analytical techniques are required. The research effort described in this paper has involved a comparison of the performance of various energy-absorbing seat concepts with respect to the dynamic test criteria of FAR Parts 27 and 29. Structures incorporating three different energy-absorbing configurations were modeled using the SOMLA program, which has been developed under FAA sponsorship for aircraft seat analysis. An objective was the determination of energy absorber parameters that would limit the maximum lumbar force in the dummy to 1500 lb, as required by the FARs. The seat models and results obtained with the models are described.