An investigation into a synthetic vibration model for humans: An investigation into a mechanical vibration human model constructed according to the relations between the physical, psychological and physiological reactions ofhumans exposed to vibration

We aimed to develop a synthetic vibration model reproducing the relations b etween the physical, psychological and physiological reactions of the human body exposed to external vibrations, The synthetic vibration model consist ed of a mechanical vibration model simulating the physical behaviour of the human body and multiple regression equations describing the above three re lations. The mechanical vibration models formalised according to Lagrange's equation of motion were employed. The experiment was carried out under con ditions in which five people were exposed to external vibration that vertic ally vibrates at various frequencies. As a result, it was clear that there were resonance points showing remarkable shaking of the head, the chest and the abdomen in the frequency range 2-11 Hz. Moreover, it was indicated tha t the relations between the physical reactions and the resulting psychologi cal and physiological reactions might be expressed in terms of multiple reg ression analysis. Finally, the simple vibration model of a person riding in an automobile was numerically constructed to reproduce the physical reacti ons of the human body. and then the psychological and physiological reactio ns were predicted. Relevance to industry The synthetic vibration model could facilitate comfort design in the field of industrial design in general and the automotive industry in particular. Using the vibration model in industrial fields will enable us to efficientl y develop various products, whose design will take into consideration of hu man comfort. (C) 2001 Elsevier science B.V. All rights reserved.