Laboratory studies of the influence of the working position of the passenger vehicle air suspension on the vibration comfort of children transported in the child restraint system

Damian Frej,Andrzej Zuska,Emilia M Szumska

doi:10.1515/eng-2021-0050

Abstract

AbstractThe article presents the results of laboratory tests on the influence of the choice of the vehicle suspension position and the method of mounting child seats on the vibration comfort of children transported in them. Two child seats were used in the work. The B seat was attached to the vehicle with the ISOfix system, while the A seat was attached in the classic way (with seat belts). During the tests, the values of vertical vibrations were recorded on the seats of child seats, the rear seat of the vehicle and on the basis of ISOfix. The analyzed systems, depending on the method of mounting a child seat, may be characterized by two different vibration transmission chains. They depend on the method of fixing the child seat (the classic way of fixing the seat and the ISOFIX system). The article presents the results of empirical tests carried out at the EUSAMA SA.640 stand, which in these tests acted as a vibration generator with a frequency of 0 to 25 Hz. The analysis of the obtained results confirmed the observations published in previous articles about the negative impact of the use of the ISOfix base on the vibrational comfort of children.

Highlights

In Poland, according to the Road Traffic Act, children under 150 cm tall may only be transported in a vehicle in a safety seat or other restraint [1]
The subject of the research is part of the issue of the vibration comfort of children transported in child seats
The presented research is a part of a whole series of research carried out by employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles and Transport of the Kielce University of Technology. They concern the spread of vertical bastards in the following system: vehicle – vehicle seat cushion – child seat

Summary

Introduction

In Poland, according to the Road Traffic Act, children under 150 cm tall may only be transported in a vehicle in a safety seat or other restraint [1]. Pursuant to Regulation No 129 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (the so-called i-Size), the use of ISOFIX systems is promoted The provisions of this standard require rearward-facing transport of children. A lot of research is being conducted to investigate the behavior of a child’s body in a forward-facing or rear-facing seat during tests simulating a collision using dummies The results of these studies can be found, among others in [19,20,21]. Vibrations originating from the places of contact of the wheels with the surface are transferred to the body and are felt by the vehicle users This is confirmed by the research results presented in the works [30,31,32]. Tests were carried out with different settings of the vehicle air suspension

Measurement methodology

Data analysis

Findings

Conclusions