Analysis of seat cushion comfort by employing a finite element buttock model as a supplement to pressure measurement

Abstract

Finite element (FE) simulation provides a flexible way to evaluate seat comfort, and employing a biomechanical human body model can improve its advantage by simulating deformation behaviors of internal tissues. It is not extensively discussed whether the biomechanical responses from these internal tissues in a FE human body model have a consistent trend with commonly used body surface pressure under different loading environments. Thus, this study aims to answer this question and also explore a coupling experimental and simulation method of material selection for seat comfort. Using a validated buttock model, different biomechanical responses for ten different seat cushion foams were explored. The results showed no consistent trend between stress, strain, and peak pressure values regarding different foams. This findings supported that using FE human body models for body comfort evaluation is a useful supplement to the common experimental measurement of body surface pressure.