Response of the seated human body to whole-body vertical vibration: discomfort caused by sinusoidal vibration

Frequency weightings for predicting vibration discomfort assume the same frequency-dependence at all magnitudes of vibration, whereas biodynamic studies show that the frequency-dependence of the human body depends on the magnitude of vibration. This study investigated how the frequency-dependence of vibration discomfort depends on the acceleration and the force at the subject–seat interface. Using magnitude estimation, 20 males and 20 females judged their discomfort caused by sinusoidal vertical acceleration at 13 frequencies (1–16 Hz) at magnitudes from 0.1 to 4.0 ms^? 2 r.m.s. The frequency-dependence of their equivalent comfort contours depended on the magnitude of vibration, but was less dependent on the magnitude of dynamic force than the magnitude of acceleration, consistent with the biodynamic non-linearity of the body causing some of the magnitude-dependence of equivalent comfort contours. There were significant associations between the biodynamic responses and subjective responses at all frequencies in the range 1–16 Hz.

Practitioner Summary: Vertical seat vibration causes discomfort in many forms of transport. This study provides the frequency-dependence of vibration discomfort over a range of vibration magnitudes and shows how the frequency weightings in the current standards can be improved.