Developing a performance metric for suspension seats for marine vehicles

Occupants of high-speed marine vehicles are subjected to repetitive, intense wave impacts. These slam events can diminish the operating capacity of crew and pose long-term health risks. Shock-mitigating suspension seats can help solve this problem, and these solutions are being adopted by fleets worldwide. However, a robust method for measuring seat performance and comparing alternative technologies has not been developed. The proposed work will help CDG measure the performance of its suspension seats. We hope to develop a performance metric that can be used to evaluate experimental and simulation results, and improve our designs. We need a measurement that is cost-effective and robust to noise, and that can be linked to effects on health. By developing such a metric, we will be able to advertise and rate our seats for different applications and streamline our design process and increase our market presence.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jooeun Ahn

Student:

Tim Rees

Partner:

CDG Coast Dynamics Group Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

University of Victoria