Pleasantness ratings for vertical whole-body vibration on an aircraft seat and relevant body parts involved

Abstract

Noise and vibration are two physical factors which can reduce the perceived comfort of passengers in an aircraft during flight. In this study, 40 participants rated the pleasantness of 28 sinusoidal whole-body vibrations in the vertical direction, which differed in frequency and acceleration level while seated on a typical aircraft seat bench. The results showed significant main effects for frequency and level as well as an interaction of the two factors and an interaction between frequency and gender. Using body-maps, the pleasantness ratings could be linked to those parts of the body that were underlying the judgments. In a second experiment, the same 40 participants judged whether noise or vibration should be attenuated for comfort improvement for the same 28 signals. Logistic regression functions fitted to the results enable an estimate of the percentage of people preferring vibration reduction as a function of frequency and vibration level.