Design of an Extractable Safety Seat for the F1 Cockpit

Abstract

This paper presents the design detail of the Lear Extractable Safety Seat, which has been developed in conjunction with the FIA and Stewart Grand Prix for use in the Formula One race car cockpit. The seat is designed for use in the event of an accident that renders the driver incapacitated. The Extractable Seat allows the driver to be fully immobilized for extrication without the need for torso manipulation. This minimizes the risk of exacerbating any potential spinal injuries, while allowing for efficient removal of the driver from the cockpit. The seat was introduced at the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix, and the design has now been specified by the FIA as mandatory for all formula one cars from the 1999 season and beyond. Continued developments are currently underway for the next generation seat in order to improve efficiency of the system and address issues from its first season of implementation. The status of these developments is also presented in this paper. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND FIA SPECIFICATION During the 1998 season, the FIA expressed interest in the implementation of an extractable seat for use in Formula 1 at the start of the 1999 season. A brief description was included in the preliminary FIA technical regulations for such a seat. The regulations very generally stated that a system should allow for removal of a driver in his seat. The seat should include a maximum of two attachment bolts to the cockpit, which are easily accessible by the extrication team. A maximum of 8 receptacles should be included in the seat for belts and neck support attachments. The scope of the Lear design was to meet or exceed these requirements with a seat that would provide adequate immobilization and allow for safe and efficient driver extrication. EXTRICATION METHODS to the introduction of the extractable seat, the methods used to extricate a driver from the cockpit involved excessive manipulation of the driver’s body. The KED (Kendrick Extrication Device) was most commonly used, and the procedures involved are quite timeconsuming. The KED system is a vest-like apparatus comprised of a series of rigid plates. It is primarily used in conjunction with a neck brace (cervical collar) to stabilize the driver’s torso, head, and neck. However, its design presents some issues. The KED (Kendrick Extrication Device) In order to apply the KED, the driver’s body must be moved forward to allow its insertion between the seat and the driver’s back. The KED’s securing straps cross the driver’s thorax and actually produce compressive forces on the torso, which can decrease ventilation. The KED does not provide hip or upper leg support, which can result in compressive forces acting on the spine during lifting. There is also the potential that a secured KED vest could inhibit medical team access to areas of the body that are important for diagnosis and treatment. Once the driver is extricated with the KED, he is transferred to a spinal board for transport to the medical center or local hospital. The average time for a driver extrication with the KED is approx. 6 minutes, and requires 6 extrication team members to execute the event. LEAR MOTORSPORTS DESIGN PROCESS Lear’s technical partnership with Stewart Grand Prix presented an ideal venue for the design of an effective extractable safety seat. Lear is currently responsible for the design and development of customized seats for the drivers of the Stewart Grand Prix (now Jaguar Racing) Team. The Lear design process incorporates driver body measurements and laser scans into a human modeling software package (Safeworks) to create man models of each driver. Safeworks can be used to manipulate the driver models in order to approximate the driver’s seated position in the cockpit. It can then be used to aid CAD design of cockpit packaging, analyze driver line of vision, and check clearances for the driver’s range of motion. Lear F1 Cockpit & Driver CAD Model Once the driver positions are validated, customized seats are designed 100% in CAD. Each seat is comprised of a carbon/kevlar composite shell, which serves as the structural part of the seat. It provides support and load distribution for the driver. Since the seat shell is custom designed for each driver, its structure provides an effective splint for the driver ‘s torso, hips, and upper legs. The Lear driver man models can be used to effectively position the securing belt points relative to the drivers’ bodies. Cockpit clearances for seat & driver extrication can be checked and ensured, all within the CAD model. This design process was used to develop the Lear Extractable Safety Seat. Lear Seat Shell Design in CAD