The Research On Car Ergonomic Design Based On RAMSIS

In today’s society, cars have been an indispensable part of people’s lives. As a result, diseases caused by driving are seen more than before. These years consumers place comfort as an increasingly important role when purchasing cars and car makers widely accept the concept "human-centered design"in the automotive design process. In the ergonomic design process, an essential task is to evaluate the comfort performance. This paper studied how to make comfort assesement based on muscle forces for a driver, and it also disscussed the relationship among cab package parameters, driving posture, joint toques and muscle forces. The research results can help understanding why drivers feel uncomfortable and how cab package parameters affect drivers’ comfort feelings. And it will offer important support for the optimization of cab package.In the past similar researches cab package were usually conducted in an assembled cab model or a real car, but in this research a virtual cab model had been established using RAMSIS software for driving simulation.40cab package schemes can be acquired by adjusting the package parameters. Then driving postures were predicted for each package scheme and drivers’joint angles were measured for different driving posture. The relationship between package parameters and drivers’ joint angles were disscussed using regression method, and many regression equations were acquired.Biomechanic models were established for upper limb and lower limb.Then joint toques were calculated when operating clutch pedal and when grasping the steering wheel. This paper also analysed how the package parameters of clutch pedal, seat and steering wheel affect joint toques. Finally, Biomechanic models were created to calculate the joint toques for neck and waist and how they are affected by package parameters.Taking lower limb as an example, this paper studied related muscle forces in the clutch operating process based on joint toques which have been researched above. First arm of force for each muscle was calculated according to the muscle function model of lower limb, and muscle forces were predicted using an optimization method, discussed how muscle forces were effected by cab package parameters, joint angles, force arm of muscle and muscle length. Then the paper briefly introduced muscle forces of neck and waist, also discussed how they are affected by package parameters. The method of evaluating driving discomfort based on muscle forces was stated in the end.