Evaluation and analysis of buttock-thigh pressures amongst contemporary ergonomic chairs, with regards to the effects of 3-D fabric and memory foam /
This research project investigated various chair design and postural factors on seat pan pressure distributions in an effort to identify methods of reducing peak and mean pressures in the seat pan. The investigation focused on twelve different ergonomic chairs, variations in chair angle, and the us...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2001.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=728908171&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This research project investigated various chair design and postural factors on seat pan pressure distributions in an effort to identify methods of reducing peak and mean pressures in the seat pan. The investigation focused on twelve different ergonomic chairs, variations in chair angle, and the use of armrests. Since most historical research had focused only on males, this study employed females in an attempt to gather data on any potential differences between males and females. A synthetic model was developed to emulate a human's pressure distribution in sitting. The model was constructed to include factors such as load bearing geometry of the skeleton, density and displacement of tissues, and frictional forces. The model performed well, providing results that differed from the human's, but were similar enough they could be used to estimate human values with the use of a correction factor. Additionally, male and female pressure distributions were evaluated, focusing on differences in peak pressure, mean pressure, and the number of activated cells. For all of the response variables (peak pressure, mean pressure, and active cells) there were statistically significant differences between genders. In addition, this gender difference indicated that males had higher peak pressures, higher mean pressures, and higher active cells. The chairs that appear to have yielded the greatest reduction in peak pressure (the variable of prime interest) for both genders were chairs 5 and 12. Both have contoured seat pans, and employee a 3-D woven fabric. However, the degree of reduction based on curvature variables such as slope and height of the contours was not investigated. Further research along these lines may assist designers in improving even further on chairs that result in significant reductions in peak and mean pressures, both for males and females. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Interdisciplinary Engineering". |
| Physical Description: | xv, 217 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-202). |