Enhancement of Automotive Seating Comfort using Double-Wall 3D Air Mat Cushion 2016-01-1430

Seating comfort is associated with the various factors, and one of the principal components of a vehicle environment which can affect passenger’s comfort is vibration. The seat design plays a vital role in the vibration isolation. In recent years, automotive seat designers are paying more attention for the improvement of seat cushion properties. This paper provides information about a new automotive seat concept that use double-wall 3D air-mat in cushion along with foam cushion in the seat cushion system. To test the developed seat on vibration isolation characteristics, seating comfort, and ride quality experiments have been performed. This research is divided into two parts. At first, the newly developed seat tested on the motion simulator. In study 2, road tests were performed on the national highway. Two tri-axial accelerometers were used to measure acceleration at the foot and hip in two different seats (seat with and without double-wall 3D air-mat). All measured accelerations were about the vertical direction. Pressure measures are relevant to physiological factors that induce comfort, therefore, the interface pressure measured at the seat pan region by the pressure imaging system. Results showed that the seat with double-wall 3D air- mat effectively minimized occupant’s body discomfort. Also, average body-seat interface pressure was also reduced comparatively. Overall, the developed seat provided improved seating comfort and ride quality than the seat being used.