Replacement of Cushions in Energy Absorbing Seats – Use of Modeling to Better Understand Test Variability

​Aircraft seat cushions play a crucial role in the protection of occupants during crash landings. Testing has shown that only changing the material composition of the cushion can change the risk of injury to the occupant from less than 5% to greater than 50%. Dynamic testing of aircraft cushions shows significant variability that makes evaluation of replacement cushions risky. This project will use a physics based numerical model of a seat system to evaluate the effect of the variation seen in physical testing of the cushions.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Managing Organizations:

  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute-Federal Aviation Administration

  P.O. Box 25082
  Oklahoma City, OK  United States  73125
• Project Managers:

  Zinke-McKee, Stacey

• Performing Organizations:

  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute-Federal Aviation Administration

  P.O. Box 25082
  Oklahoma City, OK  United States  73125
• Principal Investigators:

  Moorcroft, David

• Start Date: 20220817
• Expected Completion Date: 20240830
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aircraft; Aviation safety; Cushioning materials; Injury severity; Occupant kinetics; Seats
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Materials; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01881376
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Aviation Administration
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 26 2023 6:10PM