Design of single axis vibration simulators for investigation of plantar sensitivity

With the development of the automotive industry, consumers' interest in the emotional quality of vehicles has been increasing. The purpose of this study is to resolve the emotional discomfort for the detailed vibration transmitted from an accelerator pedal that is in direct contact with the driver in a vehicle. Therefore, an individual accelerator simulator for each axis has been designed and made in order to study for the foot sole sensitivity of the human body. A modal test about the mounts used for the simulators to avoid resonance occurred from the simulators has been performed, and accurate stiffness and damping values were extracted on the basis of the analysis of dynamic characteristic and its following frequency response. In the experiment of pedal vibration, the simulators were excited within specific range of frequency based on the analysis of plantar supporting structure against pedal effort and boundary conditions considering external influences. Accelerometers were attached to each of the axes of the simulator to measure the acceleration response for the vibration due to excitation. Then, it was verified that the magnitude of the target vibration within the operating frequency can be implemented. In addition, in the preliminary experiment, the effect of the magnitude of the vibration on each axial direction of the simulator was analyzed to investigate the sole sensitivity of the driver's foot by frequency on account of RPM change while driving. To make the results from the experiment more reliable, the vibrations occurred from the different directions other than the target direction were minimized for each accelerator simulator by checking the crosstalk. Investigation of the foot sole sensitivity of human will be conducted through an actual experiment with test subjects in the future.