Occupant Friction Coefficients on Various Combinations of Seat and Clothing

This paper reports on tests conducted to determine static and dynamic coefficients of friction between occupant clothing and automotive seat upholstery materials. Multiple materials were used for both the occupants clothing and the seat upholstery to examine friction variations with various material combinations.

A fixture was fabricated to hold an automotive seat stationary while a dummy was pulled forward off of the seat. The forces required to pull the dummy were recorded for the various upholstery and clothing materials and the coefficients of friction were determined.