Performance of the Seat Suspension System Using Negative Stiffness Structure on Improving the Driver’s Ride Comfort 10-06-02-0009

Based on the dynamics theory and the negative stiffness structure (NSS), the optimal design of the driver’s seat suspension system of the cab or vehicle equipped with the NSS is proposed to enhance the driver’s ride comfort and health. To design the seat suspension system using the NSS, the dynamic models of the seat suspension system and the NSS are established to calculate the vibration equations. The influence of the geometrical and dynamic parameters of the NSS and the different operating conditions of the vehicle on the driver’s ride comfort are analyzed, respectively. Three indexes of the reduction of the root-mean-square displacement (x_RMSs ), the weighted root-mean-square acceleration (a_RMSs ) of the driver’s seat, and the seat effective amplitude transmissibility (SEAT) of the seat suspension system are selected to evaluate the NSS efficiency. The results indicate that the change of the geometrical parameters and stiffness values of the NSS significantly affect the driver’s ride comfort, especially the change of stiffness values. The seat suspension system equipped with the NSS has an obvious efficiency in improving the driver’s ride comfort and health under the different operating conditions including the various vibration sources of the road surface, the various moving speeds of the vehicle, and the different loads of the driver and seat. Particularly, the values of the a_RMSs and SEAT are remarkably reduced by 60.57% and 60.58% whereas the maximum power-spectral-density (PSD) acceleration of the driver’s seat is also strongly decreased by 86.77% compared to without the NSS under the moving condition of the vehicle on the rough road.

Accordingly, the application of the NSS on the seat suspension system of vehicles can remarkably improve the driver’s ride comfort under all the various operating conditions.