Dynamic Nonlinear Viscoelastic Measurements of Vehicle Seat Components for Ride Comfort Evaluation

Ride comfort is an important factor in the development of vehicles. Understanding the characteristics of seat components allows more accurate analysis of ride comfort. This study focuses on urethane foam, which is commonly used in vehicle seats. Soft materials such as urethane foam have both elastic and viscous properties that vary with frequency and temperature. Dynamic viscoelastic measurements are effective for investigating the vibrational characteristics of such materials. Although there have been many studies on the viscoelastic properties of urethane foam, no prior research has focused on dynamic viscoelastic measurements during compression to simulate the condition of a person sitting on a seat. In this study, dynamic viscoelastic measurements were performed on compressed urethane foam. Moreover, measurements were conducted at low temperatures, and a master curve using the Williams–Landel–Ferry (WLF) formula (temperature–frequency conversion law) was created.