Airplane Seat Research Articles

Finite element stress analysis and topological optimization of a commercial aircraft seat structure

In recent years, the Finite Element Method (FEM) has emerged as a cornerstone in the field of seating design, particularly within the aircraft industry. Over the past decade, significant advancements in Finite Element (FE) analysis techniques have revolutionized the seat industry, enabling the creation of safer and more cost-effective seat designs. The accuracy of FE analysis plays a pivotal role in this transformation. In the process of constructing a reliable finite element model, the selection and precise manipulation of key parameters are paramount. These crucial parameters encompass element size, time scale, analysis type, and material model. Properly defining and implementing these parameters ensures that the FE model produces accurate results, closely mirroring real-world performance. Verification of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) results is commonly accomplished through experimental methods. Notably, when the parameters are appropriately integrated into the modelling process, FE analysis outcomes closely align with experimental results. This study aims to leverage the power of FEM in performing static stress analysis and topology optimization of aircraft seats using the SOLIDWORKS commercial finite element platform. By simulating loading conditions, this research calculates static stresses and displacements experienced by the aircraft seat. Through a comprehensive topology optimization study, the weight of the airplane seat is remarkably reduced by up to 30%, while still prioritizing passenger safety. The success of this optimization showcases the potential for substantial weight savings in aircraft seat design without compromising safety standards.

Whites Only: Race and Mobility in Kym Ragusa's The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging and Claudia Rankine's Citizen: An American Lyric

Whites Only: Race and Mobility in Kym Ragusa's <i>The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging</i> and Claudia Rankine's <i>Citizen: An American Lyric</i>

Books on Human Evolution

Books on Human Evolution

Being in Control of Noise Levels Improves the Perception of Airplane Seat Comfort

Abstract. The aviation industry is constantly making compromises when designing comfortable airplane cabins. Providing passengers with a pleasant acoustic environment without adding weight to the cabin structure is a field of tension that challenges cabin interior designers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether noise levels affect the comfort and physical discomfort experienced by airplane passengers, and whether control influences comfort perception. To this end, 30 participants experienced three conditions (silence, aircraft engine noise at 75 dB, and the same noise with the ability to use earplugs), and comfort and discomfort were measured using a questionnaire. It was concluded that aircraft engine noise negatively affected the airplane passengers’ comfort experiences. Having the ability to control this noisy environment with earplugs resulted in the lowest reported physical discomfort.

Social distancing in airplane seat assignments for passenger groups

We provide a mixed-integer programming model (MIP) to assign airplane passengers to seats while preserving two types of social distancing: the distance from the passengers’ seats to the aisle and the distance among groups of passengers who are not travelling together. The method assigns passengers travelling within a family group to seats near others of the same group. We present a heuristic algorithm to solve the proposed MIP. This algorithm is warm started with an initial seat assignment. Stochastic simulation experiments using the new method confirm that more passengers can be assigned safely to the seats when family groups are considered. For a certain load of passengers, as the percentage of family groups compared to singleton passengers increases, the model can practice social distancing among more passengers from different groups. The proposed model provides a superior seating assignment compared to an airline policy of blocking all middle-seats.

Multi-functional active noise control system on headrest of airplane seat

This work describes a multi-functional active noise control (ANC) system installation in an airplane seat. Most researchers in the field have focused on systems that cancel narrowband noise on headrests owing to the causality constraint of ANC system. Therefore, ANC systems in seats have limited performance. In this paper, an ANC system is designed for an airplane seat and the electronic delay of the ANC system is reduced to meet the causality requirement of a feedforward ANC system. An infrared sensor is used to detect the head of the occupant of the seat, so the ANC system can automatically cause the quiet zone to surround the ears of users with various sitting postures. Multiple noise sources and the automatic activation function of the ANC system are discussed. Experimental results show that the proposed ANC system for an airplane seat effectively reduces recorded airplane noise without the need for earplugs or an ANC headset.

Perception thresholds for whole-body vibrations on an airplane seat

The comfort during a flight on an aircraft is important for passengers. Like many other physical factors, vibrations of the airplane may negatively affect comfort. To understand the impact of vibration on comfort, it is important to know in which way the vibrations transmitted through the seat affects the perception of whole-body-vibrations. In this study, perception thresholds for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibrations with frequencies between 20 Hz and 75 Hz were determined on a vibration platform with a typical economy class aircraft seat bench. Acceleration levels were recorded with accelerometers placed at the right rear seat rail and inside a seat cushion between the seat surface and the participant. The results show a distinct frequency dependency of the detection thresholds when measured at the seat rail. When taking the difference between the two measurement positions into account and describing the thresholds by the acceleration levels at the seat cushion, the determined perception thresholds are nearly frequency independent up to 50 Hz. This finding is in good agreement with literature data suggesting that the specific experimental setup does not play a big role in this frequency range. Differences above 50 Hz might be explained by the additional armrests in the present study.

Regularized spherical harmonics-domain spatial active noise cancellation in a reverberant room

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) at a target area in an open space, as opposed to cancellation in the ears through headphones, can lead to future applications. For instance, a personal acoustic environment in an airplane seat or inside a car, or a quiet zone in a noisy shared workspace can be possible using such open-space ANC without any uncomfortable on-body audio equipment. Recent advancements reinforce the practicality of such systems. However, regularization of the cancellation signal has been a crucial challenge in open-space ANC as it causes amplification of noise at locations away from the target area. This work presents a spherical harmonics-domain feed-forward spatial ANC method with a room-wide global cost function to address this issue. This room-wide global cost function is used for optimizing the set of regularization hyperparameters, while at run time only local information captured by a microphone array surrounding the target listening zone is required. Numerical experiments applying the proposed method in a simulated reverberant room show the effectiveness of the proposed method in creating a specific zone of silence with low to moderate noise amplification in the rest of the room.

Finite Element Stress Analysis of Airplane Seat

Finite element method (FEM) is frequently used in the seat industry, as well as in the aircraft seat industry, which is a sub-branch of it, especially in the last 10-15 years. Developments in finite element (FE) analysis have enabled safer and cheaper designs to be created in the seat industry. The accuracy of the finite element analysis performed while using this method is extremely important. For this reason, in creating the finite element model, some important parameters must be selected and processed correctly for the model to give the correct result. These parameters can be listed as element size, time scale, analysis type, and material model. The verification of the Finite element analysis (FEA) results is usually done using experimental methods. It is known that in the finite element analysis results almost equivalent to experimental results are obtained when the aforementioned parameters are modeled correctly. This study aims to perform static stress analysis and topology optimization of an airplane seat using the FEM. The static stresses and displacements created at the seat are calculated under simulated loading conditions. Thanks to the topology optimization study, the weight of the airplane seat is minimized by a 30% without sacrificing seat safety. A comparison of static stresses obtained from the FE and analytical models indicates a reasonable correlation, demonstrating confidence in our FE analysis.

Objective and subjective evaluation of a new airplane seat with an optimally pre-shaped foam support.

Aircraft seat manufacturers are making efforts to reduce seat weight while continuously increasing seating comfort. To verify if seats with an optimally pre-shaped foam support could improve seating comfort while reducing seat weight. The optimally pre-shaped surface was obtained from a synthesis of 95% of individually optimized compressed seat pan surfaces of a target population. Two new seats were proposed with two different cushions, one slightly softer and the other harder. Nineteen differently sized volunteers tested the two new seats and an existing seat randomly. After an assessment of initial discomfort, participants were instructed to watch a TV series for 50 minutes. A same questionnaire was used to assess both initial and longer-term discomfort. Contact forces and pressure distribution were analysed as well in-chair movements (ICM) during sitting. The two new seats exhibited lower shear, lower peak pressure and larger contact area on the seat pan as well lower number of ICM during the 50 minutes sitting. They also had lower initial overall discomfort, though significant differences between the seats were not found after the long sitting. Properly pre-shaped surface could be used as foam support to reduce the amount of foam while reducing seating discomfort.

Social distancing in airplane seat assignments

This paper addresses the airplane passengers’ seat assignment problem while practicing social distancing among passengers. We proposed a mixed integer programming model to assign passengers to seats on an airplane in a manner that will respect two types of social distancing. One type of social distancing refers to passengers being seated far enough away from each other. The metric for this type of social distancing is how many passengers are seated so close to each other as to increase the risk of infection. The other type of social distancing refers to the distance between seat assignments and the aisle. That distance influences the health risk involved in passengers and crew members walking down the aisle. Corresponding metrics for both health risks are included in the objective function. To conduct simulation experiments, we define different scenarios distinguishing between the relative level of significance of each type of social distancing. The results suggest the seating assignments that best serve the intention of the scenarios. We also reformulate the initial model to determine seat assignments that maximize the number of passengers boarding an airplane while practicing social distancing among passengers. In the last part of this study, we compare the proposed scenarios with the recommended middle-seat blocking policy presently used by some airlines to keep social distancing among passengers. The results show that the proposed scenarios can provide social distancing among seated passengers similar to the middle-seat blocking policy, while reducing the number of passengers seated close to the aisle of an airplane.

Greedy Method for Boarding a Partially Occupied Airplane Using Apron Buses

This paper investigates the time to complete the boarding of a partially occupied two-door airplane when its passengers are transported from the airport terminal to the airplane using two apron buses. We propose a greedy method that assigns each passenger to a particular apron bus based on the passengers’ airplane seat assignments. This greedy approach exploits the airplane’s symmetry by providing essentially the same method for those boarding through the front door of the airplane as those boarding through the rear door of the airplane. The symmetrical properties of window, middle, and aisle seats of each row/side are considered in the proposed method as well. Computer simulation results indicate that, when using the greedy method, the boarding time can be reduced by up to 8.33% compared to the boarding time resulting from the best known practices in the literature, and with up to a 43.72% improvement in boarding time when compared to the boarding method commonly used in many airports. Furthermore, experimental results confirm our hypothesis that when the capacity of the apron buses exceeds the number of passengers to be transported to the airplane, the most time-efficient results of the proposed greedy method occur when an equal number of passengers are assigned to each of the two apron buses.

Effect of in-seat exercising on comfort perception of airplane passengers

Sitting still for extended periods of time can lead to physical discomfort and even serious health risks. Due to safety regulations, reducing passenger’ sitting time in aircrafts is not feasible. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study, in where an interactive airplane seat was compared with a current economy class seat. Participants used both seats for 3.5 h, and performed significantly more in-seat movements when using the interactive seating system. Furthermore, this interactive seat predominantly lead to significantly better comfort experiences and reduced discomfort experiences, however no significant differences have been found in self-reported localized musculoskeletal discomfort. Passengers indicated that they would prefer this interactive seat over a standard aircraft seat.

A Structurally Enhanced, Ergonomically and Human–Computer Interaction Improved Intelligent Seat’s System

Modern technology advances airplane seat design with better ergonomics and new HCI (human-computer interaction). However, airline companies are not motivated to replace the seat system due to the cost consideration. Hence, a series of re-optimized design in ergonomics and HCI should be carried out by designers. This paper describes a novel intelligent seat’s system, which is designed to be used for the airplanes or similar conditions. This system consists of redesigned ergonomics and HCI compared with original seat’s systems. The mainly redesigned parts are the aesthetics and visual modeling for people to receive visual information, the ergonomics part for people to receive tactile information, new users’ action innovation for people to receive and output information, the redesign of the structure of the system with low weight and cost, and the functional system environment for people to receive information from humans through movement in multiple environments. Structural analysis supports the redesign. The purpose of the redesign is to improve the HCI system with new tech and interaction.

Multiple Conceptual Modelling of Perceived Quality of In-flight Airline Services

Despite growing literature on the different aspects of airline service quality in relation to behavioural intentions, less attention has been paid to some specific aspects of in-flight services. The focus of the present research is, therefore, on a multiple conceptual model of the quality of in-flight services in relation to passengers’ perception of value, followed by recommendations (word of mouth - WOM) of airlines, as well as the quality and comfort of airline seats. The study is performed using two databases of reviewers’/passengers’ opinions regarding the quality of in-flight airline services and airline seat comfort. Our research results reveal that the perceived comfort of the airplane seat is the most important factor of passengers’ perceived quality of in-flight airline services, which also considerably affects the passengers’ perception of value, and consequently moderates behavioural intentions (in our research, expressed through positive WOM). The analysis of the relative importance of the components of perceived airline seats’ comfort shows that seat width is the most significant factor that contributes to the overall perceived comfort of the airline seat.

Modeling passengers boarding in aircraft using cellular automata

Aircraft are profitable to their owners as long as they are in the air transporting passengers to their destinations; therefore it is vital to minimize as much as possible their preparation time on the ground. In this paper we simulate different boarding strategies with the help of a model based on cellular automata parallel computational tool, attempting to find the most efficient way to deliver each passenger to her or his assigned seat. Two seat arrangements are used, a small one based on Airbus A320 U+002F Boeing 737 and a larger one based on Airbus A380 U+002F Boeing 777-300. A wide variety of parameters, including time delay for luggage storing, the frequency by which the passengers enter the plane, different walking speeds of passengers depending on sex, age and height, and the possibility of walking past their seat, are simulated in order to achieve realistic results, as well as monitor their effects on boarding time. The simulation results indicate that the boarding time can be significantly reduced by the simple grouping and prioritizing of passengers. In accordance with previous papers and the examined strategies, the outside-in and reverse pyramid boarding methods outperform all the others for both the small and large airplane seat layout. In the latter, the examined strategies are introduced for first time in an analogous way to the initial small seat arrangement of Airbus A320 U+002F Boeing 737 aircraft family. Moreover, since in real world scenarios, the compliance of all the passengers to the suggested group division and boarding strategy cannot be guaranteed, further simulations were conducted. It is clear that as the number of passengers disregarding the priority of the boarding groups increases, the time needed for the boarding to complete tends towards that of the random boarding strategy, thus minimizing the possible advantages gained by the proposed boarding strategies.

Parallel implementation of aircraft disembarking and emergency evacuation based on cellular automata

In this paper we present a model based on the parallel computational tool of cellular automata (CA) capable of simulating the process of disembarking in a small airplane seat layout, corresponding to Airbus A320/ Boeing 737 layout, in search of ways to make it faster and safer under normal evacuation conditions, as well as emergency scenarios. The proposed model is highly customizable, with the number of exits, the walking speed of passengers, depending on their sex, age and height, and the effects of retrieving and carrying luggage. Additionally, the presence of obstacles in the aisles as well as the emergence of panic being parameters whose values can be varied in order to enlighten the disembarking and emergency evacuation processes are considered in detail. The simulation results were compared to existing aircraft disembarking and evacuation times and indicate the efficacy of the proposed model in investigating and revealing passenger attributes during these processes in all the examined cases. Moreover, we parallelized our code in order to run on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using the CUDA programming language, speeding up the simulation process. Finally, in order to present a fully dynamical anticipative real-time system helpful for decision-making we implemented the proposed CA model in a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, and recreated the results given by the software simulations in a fraction of the time. We then compared and exported the performance results among a sequential software implementation, the implementation running on a GPU, and a hardware implementation, proving the consequent acceleration that results from the parallel CA implementation in specific hardware.

A survey of protective cushion usage in individuals with spinal cord injury while traveling in a motor vehicle and on a commercial airliner

ObjectiveWhile there are specific recommendations for pressure relieving cushions when seated in a wheelchair, there is a paucity of information regarding prescribed wheelchair cushions for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) when traveling and not in their wheelchair seat. A questionnaire was designed to ascertain if individuals with SCI who are primarily wheelchair users utilize a prescribed wheelchair cushion when traveling in a motor vehicle (MV) or on a commercial airliner, as not utilizing one may be a causative factor in developing pressure ulcers.Design and settingSurvey design in an outpatient SCI rehabilitation setting.ParticipantsFull-time wheelchair users, with chronic (>1 year) SCI.ResultsForty-two participants completed the survey, with a mean age of 39 years old and time post-injury of 10.4 years. All subjects used a prescribed wheelchair cushion when seated in their wheelchair. Twenty-seven subjects reported transferring to a MV seat (59.5% of sample), with 25 (92.6%) reporting not using a prescribed wheelchair cushion when sitting directly on the MV seat. For subjects who traveled on an airplane (n = 23–54.8%), 19 (82.6%) reported that they do not sit on a prescribed specialty cushion.ConclusionPersons with chronic SCI, who are primary wheelchair users, utilize prescribed wheelchair cushions when sitting in their wheelchair, but most do not utilize a prescribed wheelchair cushion when seated in a MV (if they transfer out of their chair) or on a airplane seat. Studies to determine the pressures over the bony prominences on their travel surfaces may need to be undertaken to see whether the pressures are appropriate, as they may be a source of skin breakdown.

Fifteen Aphorisms

May–August 2014 • 19 illustration by michel devrient My senses allow my brain to know precisely where it’s lost. Studio windows, in all likelihood, face north so painters won’t have to bear the sun’s irony. An airplane seat’s soft upholstery conceals a steel rib-cage the way a piece of cheese does a rat trap. Thought—expression’s well broughtup daughter who carries on as though she’s the mother. The altruist—only an adulterous egoist. Earth has no history. The geologist is its ventriloquist. Were I God, I’d regret not consecrating my Sunday to the creation of the bicycle. Not easy to fathom how a stream can speak as it flows. Travel’s excitement pales beside the look of my dog left at home. My head decides where, my feet whether. The cerebral hemispheres: a leftwing invention inspired by the right. I’m a bit like the watch that, with Swiss precision, discloses the jitters of the maker who built it. I listen to the night the way others eavesdrop at a door. I catch the rain like I overhear a conversation. As I age I’m gradually acquiring the stability of a collapsed house of cards. A few seconds are enough for my dog to understand that the reflection is not himself. A whole lifetime probably won’t get me there. Translations from the French By Robin Magowan Michel Devrient is a Swiss painter-draughtsman-cartoonist domiciled in rural Burgundy. Among his books are The Monday Painter, Doubles (dialogues in drawing with Virgil Burnett), and a collection of aphorisms, Martini with a Splash of Dawn. There are several books of drawings, including Chausse-Trapes, Nous et les autres, Devrient dessine, and Phénix & Co. Robin Magowan has recently adapted The Garden of Amazement: Selected Gems from Saeb (1590–1676). He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Fifteen Aphorisms Michel Devrient Michel Devrient’s Art of Drawing Find a large piece of paper. It should not be standard format, not classical raisin or jesus, but a big sprawling surface, two meters at least from edge to edge. Don’t worry if it is bent or creased, or even torn. Such concern has nothing to do with drawing. Open the window so that the landscape and everything it contains may flow in about the paper. Then begin to draw. The infinitive “to draw” should be interpreted very loosely. It means, if it can be defined at all in this context, to let things happen to the paper. For example, marks might be made on it with a variety of instruments including pens, pencils, brushes, crayons, teacups, jam spoons, fingernails, trouser seats, dog noses, cat whiskers, mouse feet, and so on. A friend comes into the room and flicks cigarette ash on the paper, so much the better. If another friend comes into the room and spills wine on the paper, better yet. If a child comes into the room, invite the child to play with the paper by drawing or writing on it. If a sparrow flies through the room and leaves a small dropping on the paper, rejoice in this event. If a crow flies through the room and leaves a large dropping on the paper, rejoice more vigorously. If an owl or a hawk or an eagle visits, sing “Hallelujah!” In fact, anything that comes in from outside must be encouraged to settle on the paper: dust pollen, seedlings, insects—any wind freight at all. Let the sun shine on the paper by day; the moon by night. If there is a storm, accept its raindrops as willingly as the plowed ground does in August. Don’t worry about finishing the drawing; it will finish itself. I learned this method for making drawings from my neighbor Michel, who was using it when I first met him back in the sixties . . . – Virgil Burnett, from The Monday Painter, by Michel Devrient, tr. Robin Magowan (Pasdeloup Press, 2009) ...

ECG Monitoring in an Airplane Seat: Appraising the Signal Quality

A contactless electrocardiogram (ECG) system in an airplane seat aims to monitor the well-being of passengers afraid to fly, but passenger movements can disturb the signal. The authors discuss how passenger activity influences ECG signals and present a novel method for automatically appraising signal quality.