Computational Methods Application of Musculoskeletal Analysis for Seating Comfort

The design of seats in the aerospace industry is more challenging when compared to other industries, such as the automotive industry. The limitations from the different regulations imposed by the aviation regulatory agencies around the world make it difficult to design for comfort with full flexibility, furthermore, weight reduction is a primary design objective that consistently influences design choices in all aspects of aerospace design which tends to add layer of complexity during the design process of aerospace applicable products. The standard seat designing process in the literature includes a combination of computational and experimental methods, such as the use of finite element methods (FEM), pressure mat sensors, or subjective questionnaires. However, the previous methods provide insight into the external forces acting on the human body while also providing the designer of seats with the capability to include multiple computer-simulated design configurations in their design methodology and to compare the results of several design configurations to find the optimal design across different prototypes. The objective of this thesis is to investigate an additional level of insight on comfort levels, by examining internal forces that are occurring in the muscles by using inputs such as external forces and seat postures on a musculoskeletal model. This thesis describes the methodology of simulations, development, and evaluation of comfort evaluation in the neck muscles; Sternocleidomastoid (SCM), and Upper Trapezius as a pilot study of this new approach for comfort evaluation in seat designing processes.