Application of Polyurethane Foam as a Material for Reducing Vibration of Wheelchair User

In this article, an attempt was made to model the body of a person moving in a passive manner (movement forced by another person) in a wheelchair. For this purpose, the Wan–Schimmels model was modified by 4 DOF, supplementing it with the weight of the wheelchair and a polyurethane cushion. The study was designed to test the effectiveness of utilizing a polyurethane cushion to reduce the whole-body vibration acting on a person while moving in a wheelchair. The study used a rheological model of polyurethane (PU) foam with concentrated parameters. Harmonic and random vibration analysis was carried out for this model. At the same time, the model with 5 DOF seems to be sufficient to describe vibrations transmitted to wheelchair users. The model presented in this paper can become a tool for future analysis of vibrations of people of different weights, moving passively on various types of wheelchairs on surfaces whose irregularities can be given by an appropriate form of kinematic excitation. The approach used in this study is likely to be useful in selecting a wheelchair and seat cushion so as to counteract and minimize vibrations perceived by humans.