Occupants of automobiles experience discomfort after long drives, irrespective of how well designed a seat might be. Previous\r\nstudies of discomfort during driving have focused either on the seat shape andmaterials (ââ?¬Å?staticââ?¬Â properties), long-termdiscomfort\r\n(ââ?¬Å?fatigueââ?¬Â properties), or dynamics (ââ?¬Å?vibrationââ?¬Â properties). These factors have previously not been considered together. This paper\r\nreports three studies with objectives to define and test a model for describing long-term discomfort from vibration. Study 1 was\r\nan independent measures laboratory trial using an automobile seat, which lasted 80 minutes; Study 2 was a repeated measures\r\nlaboratory trial using a rail passenger seat, which lasted 60 minutes; Study 3 was a repeated measures field trial in a people\r\ncarrier automobile, which involved 70 minutes of travelling. The findings showed that discomfort accrues with time but that more\r\ndiscomfort is experienced when subjects are also exposed to whole-body vibration. Exposure to whole-body vibration accelerates\r\ndevelopment of discomfort. The relationship between the reported discomfort, the vibration magnitude, and the exposure time\r\ncan be described using a multifactorial linear model. It is concluded that ignoring parts of the multi-factorial model (i.e., static,\r\ndynamic, or temporal factors) will compromise understanding of discomfort in context.
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