Important Paper PDF

Perception of Whole-Body Vibrations:
From basic experiments to effects of seat and

steering-wheel vibrations on the passengers
comfort inside vehicles
Vom Fachbereich Physik der

Universitt Oldenburg
zur Erlangung des Grades eines
Doktors der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.)
angenommene Dissertation
Michael A. Bellmann
geboren am 20. November 1972
in Brake
Erstreferent: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. V. Mellert

Korreferent: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. med. B. Kollmeier
Korreferent: Dr. rer. nat. R. Weber
Tag der Disputation: 05. Juli 2002
Contents
Zusammenfassung (Summary)
III
Introduction
1 Theory
1.1 Evaluation and production of vibration . . . . .
1.1.1 Different ways to produce vibrations . .
1.1.2 Vibration isolation . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3 Whole-body vibration standards . . . .
1.2 Psychophysics and sensoric physiology . . . . .
1.2.1 Sensation threshold . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2 Psychophysical measuring methods . . .
1.2.3 Physiology of the skin (sense of touch) .
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2 Simulator
2.1 Vibration-Floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1 General description . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2 Dynamic performance of the vibration-floor
2.1.3 Vibration performance . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Sound & Vibration Reproduction System . . . . . .
3 Experiments on the perception of
3.1 Measuring set-up and stimuli .
3.2 Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 Exp. 1: Psychometric Function
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vibrations
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II
CONTENTS
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
Parameters which influence the perception thresholds . .

3.4.1 Stimulus duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4.2 Audible sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exp. 2: Perception Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exp. 3: Just Noticeable Differences (JND) . . . . . . . .
3.6.1 Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL) . . .
3.6.2 Just Noticeable Differences in Frequency (JNDF)
Exp. 4: Equal-Vibration Level Contours (EVLC) . . . . .
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 Objective description of comfort inside cars

4.1 Experimental set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Calculation of the objective signal parameters
4.3 Subjective quality judgements . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Results of the correlation analysis . . . . . . .
4.4.1 Seat vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4.2 Steering-wheel vibrations . . . . . . .
4.5 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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5 Psychophysical measurements on a car seat

5.1 Measurement set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Exp. 1: Perception Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4 Exp. 2: Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL) . .
5.5 Exp. 3: Influence of level on seat vibration assessments
5.6 Exp. 4: Influence of sound on seat vibration ratings . .
5.7 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Summary and conclusion
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References
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A Supplements for the vibration standards

B Supplements for the simulator
C List of results
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vii
x
Zusammenfassung
(Summary)
Die zunehmende Technisierung, z.B. am Arbeitsplatz, und die Tendenz zu
einem immer hoheren Grad an Mobilitat haben zum Teil erhebliche Belastungen auf den Menschen und seiner Umwelt zur Folge. So ist der
Mensch vermehrt vielfaltigen Ganzk
orpervibrationen im Alltag ausgesetzt,
die z.B. durch Verkehr oder Bautatigkeiten verursacht werden. Ihre Wirkun
gen sind weniger sinnesspezifische Uberlastungen,
vielmehr belastigen sie
den Menschen im Sinne eines Zustandes verminderten Wohlbefindens oder
sie beeintrachtigen seine Leistung (Meloni, 1991). Bestehende Normen,
z.B. die ISO 2631-1/2, verwenden meist sinusf
ormige Anregungen und beschreiben die Grundlagen der Wahrnehmung von Vibrationen in Gebauden,
wie etwa die Perzeptionsschwellen. Existierende Literaturdaten f
ur Perzeptionsschwellen (einige sind zusammengefasst in Griffin, 1990) zeigen zum
Teil erhebliche Abweichungen zu den Normwerten. Es bestehen aber auch
deutliche Unterschiede untereinander, die sich teilweise auf die verwendeten Messmethoden zur
uckf
uhren lassen (Griffin, 1990). Auerdem existieren
fast keine oder nur l
uckenhafte Angaben in der Literatur zu grundlegenden
Fragen der Vibrationswahrnehmung, wie z.B. die Frage nach den gerade
wahrnehmbaren Unterschieden in der Amplitude oder Frequenz (JNDL und
JNDF). Aus diesen Gr
unden wurden einige grundlegende Experimente zur
Vibrationswahrnehmung mit bewahrten und neuen Messmethoden aus der
Psychoakustik durchgef
uhrt.
Ein bekanntes Beispiel f
ur eine simultane Einwirkung von Schall und Vibrationen auf den Menschen sind Fahrzeuge. Es ist bekannt, dass der Komfort
bzw. Diskomfort, der durch Schall und Vibrationen im Fahrzeuginneren
verursacht wird, sehr entscheidend f
ur die Akzeptanz eines Fahrzeuges ist.
In der Fahrzeugindustrie ist man daher zunehmend bem
uht, den Komfort
und die Qualitat im Bezug auf die wahrnehmbaren Innengerausche und
IV
Zusammenfassung
Vibrationen zu erh
ohen. Es ware w
unschenswert, die Eigenschaften der
akustischen und vibratorischen Signale, die fundamental wichtig f
ur die
subjektive Qualitatsbewertung sind, zu kennen. Damit ware es moglich,
die Qualitatsurteile nicht nur objektiv zu beschreiben, sondern auch bedingt Vorhersagen aus einfachen objektiven Aufnahmen der Schall- und Vibrationssignalen u
ber den Komfort zu treffen. Aus den oben genannten
Gr
unden muss die Wahrnehmung von synthetisch einfachen bis hin zu real
komplexen Ganzkorpervibrationen untersucht werden.
F
ur die in dieser Arbeit durchgef
uhrten Experimente sind zwei Simulatoren entwickelt und gebaut worden: Zum einen ist f
ur eine reine vertikale Anregung der Probanden mit Ganzk
orpervibrationen das VibrationFloor konstruiert worden. Mit dem Vibration-Floor wurde in Kapitel 3
Grundlagenforschung, bezogen auf die Wahrnehmung von sinusformigen
Ganzkorpervibrationen in vertikaler Richtung, durchgef
uhrt. Zum anderen
c f
ist das bestehende Sound & Vibration Reproduktion System
ur die Anwendung in der Fahrzeugindustrie bezogen auf Sitz-und Lenkradvibrationen,
sowie auf die Innenraumakustik (siehe Kapitel 5) modifiziert und optimiert
worden. Dieses System kann sowohl synthetische als auch real gemessene,
komplexe Lenkrad- als auch Sitzvibrationen in alle drei Richtungen subjektiv realistisch wiedergeben. Die Vorteile der in dieser Arbeit entwickelten
Simulatoren sind, dass sie unter psychophysikalischen Gesichtspunkten optimiert sind und somit unter anderem kein bzw. kaum horbaren Schall bei
der Produktion bzw. Reproduktion von Vibrationen erzeugen.
Im Fokus dieser Arbeit standen zwei, wie oben erwahnt, unterschiedliche
Bereiche: Im ersten Teil wurde die Wahrnehmung von vertikalen sinusformigen Vibrationen im Frequenzbereich von 5 bis 80 Hz auf einem starren
Stuhl untersucht (Kapitel 3). Es wurden die Perzeptionsschwelle, sowie die
psychometrische Funktion, gerade wahrnehmbare Unterschiede im Beschleunigungspegel und in der Frequenz, sowie die Kurven gleicher Vibrationswahrnehmung mit neuen und zuverlassigen psychophysikalischen Messmethoden
aus der Psychoakustik ermittelt. Es zeigt sich, dass die Perzeptionsschwelle
f
ur vertikale Ganzk
orpervibrationen nahezu konstant im Bereich ab 8 bis
63 Hz ist. Oberhalb von 63 Hz sinken die gemessene Perzeptionsschwellen
leicht, was wahrscheinlich auf Knochenleitung (Korperschall) zur
uckzuf
uhren
ist. Im Gegensatz zur Perzeptionsschwelle steigt die Kurve gleicher Vibrationswahrnehmung mit ca. 2.3 dB/Oktave im Bereich von 6 bis 63 Hz an,
obwohl der Referenzreiz (sinusf
ormige Ganzk
orpervibration mit f = 20 Hz
und LV ib = 100 dB) nur ca. 10 dB oberhalb der Perzeptionsschwelle liegt
und damit schwellennahe ist. Der Unterschied zwischen diesen beiden unterschiedlichen Kurvenverlaufen lasst sich nicht mit einer frequenzabhangigen
JNDL erklaren, die frequenzunabhangig in diesem Frequenz- und Pegelbe-
Zusammenfassung
reich bei ca. 1.5 dB liegt. Die JNDFs steigen im Gegensatz dazu frequenzabhangig mit zunehmenden Frequenzen an.
Der zweite experimentelle Teil beschaftigt sich mit einem sehr praxisnahen und anwendungsbezogenen Gebiet aus der Fahrzeugindustrie (Kapitel
4). Durch Multikanalaufnahmen der Lenkrad- und Sitzvibrationen, sowie
des Schallfeldes in diversen Fahrzeugenklassen, sollten objektive Methoden zur Beschreibung des subjektiven Komforts im Fahrzeug erarbeitet und
verbessert werden. Dazu wurden zeitgleich zu den objektiven Messungen
die subjektiven Qualitats- und Komfortbeurteilungen durch professionelle
Subjektiv-Tester aus der Fahrzeugindustrie ermittelt. Aus den vibro-akustischen Multikanalaufnahmen werden Parameter aus bestehenden Normen
(z.B. ISO 2631-1/2, ISO 5349-1/2, DIN 4051-1/2 und VDI 2057-1/2/3),
sowie Signalparameter aus der Fahrzeugindustrie f
ur die Lenkrad- und Sitzvibrationen berechnet und mit den subjektiven Bewertungen korreliert. Die
Korrelationsanalyse ergibt, dass psychophysikalisch motivierte und spektral
einfach gewichtete Vibrationsparameter besser f
ur die Beschreibung des subjektiven Komforts geeignet sind. Dieser Befund gilt jedoch nur f
ur die
Lenkradvibrationen. F
ur die Sitzvibrationen korrelieren spektral ungewichtete,
daf
ur aber spektral begrenzte Parameter um dominante Motorordnungen
(zweite Motorordnung) besser mit den subjektiven Komfortbeurteilungen.
Der tieffrequente Vibrationsenergieanteil ist ebenfalls f
ur die Bewertung der
Lenkradvibrationen wichtig. Auerdem zeigt sich f
ur die Lenkrad- und Sitzvibrationen, dass die subjektiven Bewertungen pegelabhangig sind.
In dem letzten Experimentalteil wurden grundlegende und weiterf
uhrende
Experimente zur Wahrnehmung von Sitzvibrationen auf einem realen Fahrzeugsitz im Labor wiederholt bzw. durchgef
uhrt (Kapitel 5). Mit diesen Experimenten soll die L
ucke zwischen den Grundlagen, die mit sinusformigen
Reizen ermittelt worden sind (Kapitel 3), und der praxisorientierten Anwendung im Fahrzeug (Kapitel 4) geschlossen werden. F
ur die unterschiedlichen
Experimente wurden sowohl (synthetisch einfache) sinusformige Sitzvibrationen, als auch in realen Fahrzeugen aufgenommene, komplexe vibro-akustische Signale verwendet. Es lassen sich einige grundlegende Befunde, gemessen auf einem starren Stuhl, bestatigen. So sind die Perzeptionsschwellen
ebenfalls frequenzunabhangig in dem untersuchten Frequenzbereich auf einem
(gepolsterten) Fahrzeugsitz. Die ermittelten JNDLs sind ebenfalls frequenzunabhangig und betragen ca. 1.5 dB. Auerdem kann gezeigt werden, dass
die Unterschiede in den subjektiven Bewertungen auf gerade wahrnehmbare Unterschiede im Beschleunigungspegel (JNDL) zur
uckzuf
uhren sind.
Desweiteren zeigt sich, dass ein zusatzlicher akustischer Reiz einen nicht
unerheblichen Einfluss auf die Bewertung der Sitzvibrationen besitzt.
Introduction
The human body is exposed to various whole-body vibrations from different
sources, e.g., at workshop in industry or in daily life traffic while traveling and in many other situations. Whole-body vibrations occur when the
human body (standing, lying, sitting) is in contact with a vibrating surface. Oscillations in the frequency range from 1 to 80 Hz (and sometimes
higher) are called vibrations in existing standards (e.g., ISO 2631-1, 1997;
VDI 2057-1, 1987). For higher frequencies the human body becomes less
and less sensitive, see Fig. 1.9. Movements with frequencies below 1 Hz are
denoted as motions and the excitation with such low frequency movements
produce motion sickness (see Chapter 1.1.3). The perception of whole-body
vibrations is often coupled with the hearing of low-frequency sound (sound
below 20 Hz is called infrasound) because a vibrating structure or surface
usually emits sound, as well. The effects of whole-body vibrations do not
cause primary damage to the organs of perception, however they are often
annoying and reduce the well-being of humans in daily life (Meloni, 1991).
It is just briefly noted that vibrations with high magnitudes and with a long
exposure can also have health risks for humans. The effects of vibrations
on the health of humans - e.g., whole-body and hand-arm transmitted vibrations - was discussed in many studies and was frequently reported (for
example, Martin, 1984; Griffin, 1990; Dupuis & Hartung, 1998). Nevertheless, there is a gap of knowledge of human response to vibrations at low
magnitudes around the perception threshold. Whether a motion or vibration causes annoyance, discomfort or interferes with activities depends on
many factors - including the characteristics of the presented vibrations like
frequency components and levels, characteristics of the exposed person and
many other aspects of the environment. Therefore it is difficult or impossible to summarize all effects, to define a standard with limits and standard
values for all conditions and for the whole frequency and level range. Additionally, human responses to vibrations are varied and differ greatly over
time and from one person to the other. Therefore a vibration limit is mean-
Introduction
ingless without the specification of the relevant criterion stating with which
probability a specified effect is prevented by the limit.
The interest in human response to vibration becomes more and more public because the number of mechanized sources of vibrations have increased
and the number of exposed persons has risen. Additionally, the quality of
life becomes more important. The vibration exposure in daily life is usually
around or a bit higher than the perception threshold. For example, not
only health aspects (like safety belt or airbag) are important components
of the acceptability of a vehicle but also the (dis-) comfort caused by seat
and steering-wheel, as well as the interior sound has become very important
over the last years. The benefit of better information and knowledge about
the perception of vibrations and the human response to vibrations allows to
improve designs so that comfort would increase and the annoyance experienced from excessive vibrations would be reduced. Therefore, we have to
investigate the perception of these combined, complex stimuli in the range
of human perception thresholds and comfort to evaluate the effects of such
environmental stresses on the human body.
This study focuses on three different aspects of the perception of whole-body
vibrations with low magnitudes which are around or somewhat above the
perception thresholds. The first aspect focuses on basic experiments on the
perception of whole-body vibrations just with vertical sinusoidal (artificial)
excitations (Chapter 3). In the second part of this thesis the comfort or discomfort caused by vibrations in passenger cabins of vehicles is investigated
(comprising usually of components in more than one direction, Chapter 4).
Therefore multi-channel recordings of the seat and the steering-wheel vibrations are made in various real cars of various types. The objective is to
calculate objective parameters of vibration signals that are more suitable to
describe a good or a poor quality assessments of subjective-testers. However,
the knowledge of the perception of simple artificial stimuli in one direction
cannot easily be transformed to the perception of special applications with
complex broadband (real) vibrations like in the cabin of a vehicle. Therefore
basic experiments, which take into account aspects and knowledge of the
Chapter 3 and 4, are made with simple artificial and complex (broadband)
real vibration signals on a real, cushioned car seat in the laboratory (Chapter 5). The objectives are to find a correlation between basic parameters
and a special application of the perception of vibrations inside a car.
Many experimental studies in the laboratory use sinusoidal vibrations or excitations to investigate the human response to vibration because it is easy to
produce such vibrations and the description of the vibration signals is possible with simple parameters. Additionally, it is possible to study the response
to a single frequency of motion with a sinusoidal excitation. In practice,
Introduction
on the other hand, not only periodic narrow band and sinusoidal vibrations
occur but also vibration exposures with broadband signals to random characteristics are often encountered during work, travel and leisure time. These
signals are also stochastic and they contain transient events sometimes, especially in a passenger cabin in a vehicle. It is frequently reported in the
literature that the human body is more sensitive for random, stochastic vibrations (for example, Dupuis & Hartung, 1971; Mansfield & Griffin, 2000).
The interesting frequency ranges vary according to the environment and the
effect. Effects of whole-body vibrations on health, activities, perception and
comfort is often associated with frequencies from 1 to 100 Hz. At lower frequencies the principal effect of the oscillation is a kind of motion sickness.
Above 100 Hz the sensitivity of the human body decreases because of physiological reasons (Chapter 1.2). Additionally, the human ear gets more and
more sensitive for stimuli with increasing frequency. That is the reason why
vibrations and sounds emitted from vibrating surfaces are mostly perceived
as audible cues for frequencies above 100 Hz, respectively. The degree of
annoyance for the humans depends on many factors, as mentioned before.
One important effect is the coupling between the human body and the vibrating surface. For example, dominant vibrations transmitted through the
seats of vehicles are often in the frequency range below 30 Hz. But there are
many other frequency components on the floor of a vehicle or in a building
at higher frequencies. The degree to which vibration is transmitted to the
human body depends on many factors, especially on the vibration frequency
or on the weight of the subject who is sitting on a cushioned or a rigid seat.
Therefore attempts to summarize and to describe the knowledge merely by
recommending the avoidance of some vibration frequency, or by defining a
single curve, which represents all responses and effects of the humans to
all frequencies, level ranges and conditions, is probably not possible. Additionally, such a standard mostly represents an insufficient compromise of
the effects of vibrations on the body.
Chapter 1 gives an overview of the existing standards for the perception of
whole-body vibrations and describes some methods for the description and
the evaluation of vibrations. Additionally, different principles of systems to
produce vibrations are presented with their advantages and disadvantages.
Furthermore, the physiological aspects, which have an influence on the perception of vibrations, are briefly described.
Existing standards, e.g., ISO 2631-1/2 and VDI 2057-1/2/3, refer to sinusoidal excitations on the base of the perception of vibrations in buildings.
These standards address perception thresholds of whole-body vibrations in
all directions, equal-comfort contours and the influence of exposure on the
perception of vibration among other things. Literature data (e.g., Meloni,
Introduction
1991; Griffin, 1990; Parsons & Griffin, 1988; Meister, 1937) on the perception of sinusoidal whole-body vibrations show considerable differences to
the existing standards. Additionally, data from different laboratories deviate
from each other too, probably due to differences in the psychophysical measuring method (some data are summarized in Fig. 3.3, Chapter 3). Besides,
details are missing in the literature for basic experiments and parameters
which are well known in psychoacoustics like Just Noticeable Differences
(JND) in level or in frequency (Chapter 3). The reasons for the lack of
basic knowledge are manifold. On one hand the perception of vibration is
influenced by many factors, as mentioned before. Not only the coupling
and contact area between the vibrating system (surface) and the human
body are of decisive importance but also the posture of the subjects, additional cues like sound and visual components, activities of the subjects and
the context of presented vibrations probably have an influence. Therefore
some investigations are found for special applications in the literature. It is
difficult or impossible to generalize this knowledge for the basic perception
of vibration, for example, perception thresholds on different cushioned and
rigid seats. On the other hand systems are needed, which can produce (sinusoidal as well as broadband) vibrations in a reliable fashion and without
any additional disturbing components like sound. The simulators, which are
used for the production of just vertical vibrations (vibration-floor, Chapter 2.1) and for the reproduction of real sound and vibration (whole-body
vibrations as well as hand-arm transmitted) signals recorded in idle running
c , Chapter 2.2), are precars (Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
sented in Chapter 2. Both simulators are constructed and developed under
psychophysical aspects. This means that both systems do not emit audible
sound for low frequencies during the production of vibrations and emit just
low sound pressures around the auditory threshold for higher frequencies,
among other things.
In Chapter 3 basic experiments on the perception of sinusoidal vertical
whole-body vibrations are conducted with new and reliable psychoacoustic measuring methods on a rigid seat. These measuring methods should
minimize the influence of measuring parameters on the results. First the
psychometric function is measured for a sinusoidal vertical excitation of
5 Hz (Chapter 3.3). Additionally, the whole shape of the psychometric
function is fitted with the measured data with a maximum likelihood fit. In
the second experiment perception thresholds only in the vertical direction
are measured (Chapter 3.5). But before this experiment is conducted with
many subjects, the influence of some measuring parameters, like the exposure time, the measuring method and the influence of an additional audible
sound, on the perception threshold are investigated (Chapter 3.4). There-
Introduction
after the Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL, Chapter 3.6.1) and in
Frequency (JNDF, Chapter 3.6.2) are determined. In the last experiment
equal-vibration level contours, which are comparable to equal-loudness level
contours in psychoacoustics, are determined with a fixed reference stimulus
(Chapter 3.7). Broadband vibration signals could be spectrally weighted
with such psychophysically motivated curves to find objective parameters
which are perhaps better suited for the description of the perception of
vibration than spectrally unweighted parameters.
In Chapter 4 methods for improving the objective description of subjective
car vibration quality assessments are investigated. It is well known that interior sound and vibration in cars impair the subjective comfort. Objective
signal parameters, which describe and are able to predict subjective assessments of sound and vibration, are desirable. One testing method in car
industry is to judge the quality of booming noise, seat and steering-wheel
vibrations by professional subjective-testers. In Chapter 4 seat and steeringwheel vibrations as well as sound are recorded in cars belonging to different
car classes (small, middle and upper middle class) in idle running conditions
simultaneously with the subjective ratings. From the 19 channel-recordings
objective signal parameters for the seat and steering-wheel vibrations are
calculated, which correlate significantly with the subjective ratings, and
consequently describe the subjective vibration comfort. Psychophysically
motivated parameters (from existing standards, e.g., ISO 2631-1/2 and
ISO 5349-1/2), as well as signal parameters from the car industry are considered for the classification of seat and steering-wheel vibrations. They are
correlated with the comfort ratings of subjective-testers (Chapter 4.4).
The results of the basic experiments on the perception of whole-body vibrations (Chapter 3) and of the application inside a car according to the
comfort (Chapter 4) are not easy to compare with each other. Parameters,
which could help to understand and to describe the deficiency between basic
knowledge and special applications, are desirable. Therefore simple experiments with (artificial) sinusoidal and (real) broadband seat vibrations are
conducted on a real cushioned car seat in the laboratory (Chapter 5). The
seat is similar to the seats used in Chapter 4. First basic experiments like
perception thresholds and JNDL (according to Chapter 3) on the perception
of vertical whole-body vibrations are repeated. Thereafter, broadband seat
vibration signals recorded in real cars are changed in level or are presented in
presence of additional audible stimuli to investigate the influence of vibration
level and of sound on the subjective ratings of the seat vibrations according to Chapter 4. Additionally, the influence of the individual perception
of vibration like JNDLs on the judgement behaviors of subjective-testers is
investigated.
Chapter 1
Theory
1.1
Evaluation and production of vibration
Hearing of low frequency sound (sound below 20 Hz called infrasound) with

high levels is always coupled with the perception of vibrations. These infrasounds and vibrations1 are usually annoying and reduce the well-being
of humans in daily life. Therefore, it is necessary to specify standards to
improve comfort and reduce the annoyance experienced from excessive vibrations. Especially standards are needed for the living quarters and for the
working environments. But before such standards are specified basic knowledge must be collected. Vibrating (moving) systems and a standardized
evaluation are necessary to investigate the perception of whole-body vibrations. Furthermore, the physiological aspects on the perception of vibration
must be taken into account.
In practice, the human body is exposed to various kinds of vibrations, which
are transmitted by different parts into the body, e.g., in vehicles, by hands,
feet, backside etc. These different sensations of vibrations can be separated into two big sections, the perception of whole-body vibrations and
the perception of hand-arm transmitted vibrations. This study is focused
on the first aspect, the perception of whole-body vibrations (Chapter 3)
but also regards hand-arm transmitted vibrations (Chapter 4). For these
reasons the physical and physiological fundamentals on the perception, production, measurement and evaluation methods of whole-body vibrations are
presented in this chapter. Additionally, in Chapter 1.1.3 the state-of-the1 The frequency range from 1 to 80 Hz is important for the perception of vibration
(Chapter 1.1.3)
1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration
art about existing international and national standards on the perception of

whole-body vibration are briefly discussed.
1.1.1
Different ways to produce vibrations
Various systems use different principles to produce vibrations. The advantages and disadvantages of these systems are briefed to motivate which principles for the simulators (vibrating systems) are used in this study (Chapter 2). Most technical constructions of moving and vibrating systems or
machinery were developed for structure vibration tests during world war II.
The aim of this sector was and is still to test the stability and capacity of
different parts and equipments structures used in the aerospace technology.
In the meantime, such developed systems, which produce vibrations, and
appendant measuring methods are used in nearly all public parts of industry
(transport, car, packaging and agricultural industries), applied research on
the perception of vibration and structural research of materials. Not only
sinusoidal stimuli are used but also stochastic and transient vibrations to
verify systems, materials etc. Malfunctions of materials can be found with
such stimuli due to vibrating strains (e.g., from the resonance frequency of
a rotating machinery).
Fig. 1.1:
Electrodynamic exciter called
shaker (adapted from
Br
uel & Kjr, 1967).
There are a lot of possibilities to produce vibrations using pneumatic, hydraulic, electro-dynamic and many other systems. The familiar versions are
i) straight stimulated, ii) electro-hydraulic and iii) electro-dynamic exciter.
These systems have advantages and disadvantages and are optimized for
different tasks. The simplest system is the straight stimulated exciter (i).
The testing material is shaken by an eccentric arm, which is moved by a
rotational motor. With such a system high magnitudes and high forces can
be produced. But there are two big disadvantages: Firstly, it is only possible
to produce periodic (sinusoidal) stimuli and secondly, just a small frequency
Chapter 1. Theory
range is usable (Fig. 1.2). In the literature many variations of these systems are found but today this principle is no longer used because of the
constrained movement. The next type of exciter is the electro-hydraulic
version (ii). With this system very high masses can be moved. Additionally,
there is no lower frequency limit (frequencies down to DC are possible) and
very high magnitudes and displacements are possible (1 m and more). But
this system is practically not usable for frequencies above f = 30 Hz with
adequate output (power) because of the supineness of the oil and system.
Other disadvantages are the costs and structural expenses. Furthermore,
such a gear produces a lot of noise (L = 85 dB(A) and more), which makes
this exciter unsuitable for the research on human response to vibrations. The
last system is the electro-dynamic exciter, called shaker (iii). The shaker
was developed in the early sixties and is based on the electro-hydraulic
systems. There are two versions of electro-dynamic shakers possible: (a)
moving-magnet and (b) moving-coil systems. The foundations are the
same. Fig.1.1 clarifies the moving coil option. The coil is energized by
a power supply and induces a magnetic counter field. The two magnetic
fields (from the magnet and the induced one) affect a magnetic repulsion
between the magnet and the coil. The motion of the coil or magnet is proportional to the induced magnetic field upwards and downwards. Therefore
the vibrating table - often called shaker-table which is fixed on the moving
element and centered by springs moves, as well. The utilizable force of the
system depends on the diameter of the coil, the number of coil windings and
the magnetic field strength, as well as the magnetic field of the permanent
magnet. With a system like this vibrations can be produced in a broadband
frequency range. The disadvantages are the cooling of the coil and the
problems of centering device of the moving system (more information is in,
e.g., Br
uel & Kjr, 1967; Booth, 1958).
Today the electro-dynamic and electro-hydraulic exciters are used in the
industry depending on the tasks of the vibrating system. Fig. 1.2 gives an
overview about the frequency ranges of the different exciter principles (summarized in Booth, 1958). For the electro-hydraulic exciter, the disadvantages are that they produce noise by high constructional outlay. Therefore,
electro-dynamic exciters are used for producing vibrations in this study since
they do not emit a lot of sound and a high frequency range from about 5 Hz
up to some kHz can be produced (Chapter 2).
All electro-dynamic exciters - shakers - have similar transfer functions and
acceleration-frequency-characteristics, which are based on typical (electromechanical) properties of the used materials (e.g., described in Booth,
1958). If a constant current I is loaded to a coil the moving part of the
shaker moves consequently with a constant force F . The real acceleration of
Fig. 1.2: Frequency ranges of

different systems to produce vibrations (adapted from Booth,
1958).
the vibrating system is a function of frequency and can be separated into four
regions A to D with two main resonances: the suspension resonance and the
moving element resonance (Fig. 1.3). The first (suspension) resonance is often called electro-mechanical resonance or electronical resonance because
of the influence of mechanical and electronical elements on this resonance
(e.g., described in Zollner & Zwicker, 1993). The equivalent circuit of an
electro-dynamic transducer is shown in Fig. 1.4 (left) with only electronical elements2 . The size of the displacement of the shaker-table below the
first resonance depends on the stiffness of the mechanical spring (centering
device), which means that at low frequencies a constant displacement3 is
possible in region A. If the input signal increases in frequency the resonance
of the total volume of the system in conjunction with the spring affects the
spring or suspension resonance (region B). Above this region the masses of
the moving elements of the system (shaker-table, test items) dominate the
motions of the shaker-table and a region (C) of constant acceleration affiliates. For higher frequencies the different parts of the moving elements have
their resonances and the higher frequency range show a peak-trough struc2 The
mechanical elements are transduced into electronical elements in Fig. 1.4.

displacement x indicates an increase of 12 dB/octave because a = 2 x/t2 .
3 Constant
10
Chapter 1. Theory
Fig. 1.3: Acceleration as a function of frequency if the current in coil is constant

over the frequency (adapted from Booth, 1958).
ture (region D). This main resonance is mostly an axial resonance, which is
produced by the moving elements in the axial direction, and limits the higher
usable frequency range of such vibrating systems. These resonances are produced solely by the mechanical properties of the moving elements. A simple
equivalent mechanical circuit is shown for just one additional mass (shakertable) in Fig. 1.4 (right). If test items are mounted on the shaker the simple
model in Fig. 1.4 is extended by more mass-spring elements. Therefore an
electro-dynamic exciter can be described by a simple model with at least two
different resonances: an electro-mechanical and a mechanical resonance.
The sizes and properties of the electronical and mechanical elements set the
acceleration-frequency-characteristics of an exciter.
The acceleration-frequency-characteristics depend on different material properties of the coil and magnet as well as the mechanical elements like the
spring and additional masses, as mentioned above. For example, for a
high-performance shaker with a low resistance the spring resonance will be
nearly completely suspended because of the electrical attenuation effect.
Such an attenuation effect is affected by the low internal resistance of the
power-amplifier. This leads to a short-circuit of the induced inverse voltage in the coil if the coil moves in a constant magnetic field. Because of
the proportionality of the inverse voltage and the velocity, the movement
in this region (B) takes place with constant velocity (increasing with nearly
6 dB/octave). In a higher frequency range, where the movement (motion)
depends on mass, a range with constant acceleration is given. But due
11
Fig. 1.4: The equivalent circuit of an electro-dynamic transducer (left) and an

equivalent mechanical circuit of the appendant moving-element (right). In the
left figure the mechanical elements of an electro-dynamic exciter (like centering
device) are transferred into electronical elements. If a constant current I is loaded
to a coil the moving part of the shaker is moving consequently with a constant
force F . A simple model to characterize the resonance of the moving element
(shaker-table) is shown in the right figure. This figure is based on pictures from
Zollner & Zwicker (1993).
to the low ohmic resistance of the coil windings, this region is very small
and the induction of the coil delivers a decreasing acceleration level (with
about 6 dB/octave). With damping materials the performance factor of
the system can be regulated and thus the frequency range with constant
acceleration increases (region C). More information about electro-dynamic
transducer are summarized in, e.g., Br
uel & Kjr (1967); Zollner & Zwicker
(1993); Harris & Crede (1976)
Electro-dynamic shakers can be used for an active (a) or a re-active (b)
excitation of a movable system or machine. In the first case the shaker
is fixed on a rigid high mass (e.g., foundation) and innervates the moving
part of the system. In the second case the shaker is used as an inertial
shaker, which is just fixed on the moving part of a movable system. If the
shaker runs (produces vibration) the moving element is stimulated, as well
(reactive). Both principles are used in this study to produce whole-body
vibrations (Chapter 2). The advantages and disadvantages, as well as the
simulators, which produce whole-body vibrations are explained in Chapter 2.
1.1.2
Vibration isolation
Vibration isolation is a prominent problem. Additionally, isolation mechanisms are used for the constructions of the simulators which are used
in this study for the production of whole-body vibrations. That is why
12
Chapter 1. Theory
Fig. 1.5: Simple model of a single degree-of-freedom damped self-oscillating massspring system. On the left side the passive vibration isolation principle and on
the right side the active principle are shown.
a short overview about the vibration isolation mechanism is presented in

this subsection. The vibration isolation problem is often solvable with the
knowledge of the resonance frequency of the vibrating system. The basic
problems and solutions of vibration isolation will be discussed based on a
simple model (damped self-oscillating mass-spring system): A simple single
degree-of-freedom model is realized by a moving mass mounted on a spring
and a damping module that isolates the moving mass from the foundation
(Fig. 1.5). The vibration isolation differs according to the active and the
passive isolation principles. In the first case the moving (vibrating) system
is passive isolated by the spring-damping module (called isolator) from
the environment (perhaps foundation) and protects the moving mass from
disturbing motions from the foundation, like vibrations from buildings, traffic or subsonic noise. On the other hand the environment is active isolated
from the vibrating mass or system by the isolator. In this case the function
of an isolator is to reduce the magnitude of force transmitted from the moving (vibrating) mass to its foundation. Theoretically, the moving mass and
the foundation should be dynamic rigid masses. Additionally, the foundation
should have an infinite mass. Both suppositions are not possible because
13
all bodies are more or less elastic and have finite masses. For these reasons
the foundation has a factor of about 10 times higher mass than the moving
mass in practical experience (Harris & Crede, 1976).
The quality of isolation depends on the excitation, the resonance frequency
fR , the damping material and factor D, the size (geometry) and the weight
m of the moving mass (test item), and the spring constant c (stiffness
of the spring). A simple damped self-oscillating mass-spring system have a
simple equation of motion (Eq. 1.1 or , e.g., Harris & Crede). The differential
equation of the motion changes a bit if a constant excitation F = F0 sin(t)
occurs, Eq. 1.2:
d2 x
dx
m 2 +D
+cx=0
(1.1)
dt
dt
with a constant excitation, respectively:
m
d2 x
dx
+D
+ c x = F0 sin(t)
dt2
dt
(1.2)
However, under physical aspects only a finite isolation is possible. Therefore

a compromise between the isolation effect and the stability of the whole
system must be found. The excitation bandwidth and the bilateral isolation
as well as the slide in only one direction (moving axis) are assured because
the softer
the spring (stiffness) the better the isolation at frequencies above
f = 2 fR , whereas the resonance frequency decreases with decreasing
spring constant (Eq. 1.4). Additionally, the stiffness of the spring influences
the stability of the system construction. Based on Eq. 1.1 and assuming that
the motion (displacement) x is sinusoidal x = x0 cos(t) with = 2f
the resonance frequency f0 is calculated by Eq. 1.4:
r
1 2 c
1
=
(1.3)
f0 =
2
m
T
c =
EA
d
with
E
A
d
c
T
=
=
=
=
=
dynamical elastic modulus

support area
thickness of the material
spring constant
cycle duration
14
Chapter 1. Theory
The spring constant depends on dynamic elastic modulus (E-modulus),

which differs, depending on frequency, from the static E-modulus if damping occurs. For this reason Eq. 1.4 are not applied for calculation of the
resonance frequency and displacement x (of the moving body) of undamped
vibration isolation (e.g., for steel springs after Harris & Crede, 1976), respectively.
5
(1.4)
fR =
x
Theoretically, undamped systems vibrate infinitely but in reality, in all systems, a mechanical damping with a damping factor D occurs, which is
described by the mechanical loss factor (after Veit, 1996):
=2D
(1.5)
Fig. 1.6: The absolute (left) and relative (right) transmissibility for the rigidly
connected viscous-damped isolation system as a function of /0 and critical
damping (= d/dc ) (defined in Harris & Crede, 1976). The absolute transmissibility is the ratio x0 /u0 for foundation motion excitation (left Fig.1.5) and the
ratio FT /F0 for mass force excitation (right Fig.1.5). The relative transmissibility
describes the motion between the mass and the foundation (i.e., the deflection of
the isolator). (The figure is adapted from Harris & Crede, 1976).
15
In the case of passive isolation, the standing wave ratio of the relative moving mass displacement = x u and the foundation vibration amplitude u
indicates the vibration isolation and is called relative (displacement) transmissibility TR (Fig. 1.5). The ratio of dynamic excited force F0 of moving
body to the transmitted force FT is used in active isolation case, which is
equal to the ratio x0 /u0 . This ratio is called absolute transmissibility TA
and implies a measurement of the reduction of transmitted force or motion
afforded by an isolator. The absolute and relative transmissibility curves
of a (viscous) 1-dimensional damped self-oscillating mass-spring system are
shown as a function of frequency ratio /0 in Fig. 1.6 (after Harris &
Crede, 1976).
Whereas, if only the displacement x of a constrained oscillating motion of
an excited mechanical system with a force F (= F0 sin(t)) is subjected to
the unbalance v (= 0 0 ) a symmetric curve is drawn with a maximum
at the eigenfrequency (resonance frequency) 0 . The resonant curve could
be strong inflate or flat depending on the damping factor D and ratio of
increases
m increases
[]
0
30
60
90
120
150
180
1
/0
Fig. 1.7: Resonance curves drawn for different fractions of critical damping of
a constrained motion of an excited mechanical system (upper figure). The phase
shift between the excited force and the constrained motion is shown in the lower
figure.
16
Chapter 1. Theory
critical damping = d/dc (with dc = 2 c m) (Veit, 1996). The phase

shift between the constrained motion and the excited force depends on the
frequency and the critical damping (Fig. 1.7). This figure shows a symmetric
resonant curve because the behavior of the whole system is figured. If
the behavior of every single variable of a mass-spring system is separately
plotted, unsymmetric curves will be obtained.
The isolation I of an isolator depends on the frequency ratio f /fR and
damping factor D and is calculable after Eq. 1.6:
"
#
s
1 + 2
I = 100 1
(1.6)
[1 + ( ffR )2 ]2 + 2
Eq. 1.6 show that the isolation
I depends on physically qualified ampli
tude resonance above f = fR ; therefore the isolation decreases. Realistic
moving (vibrating) systems are not always describable by a simple single
degree-of-freedom damped self-oscillating mass-spring system, that is why
additional fixed bodies with discrete masses and springs produce more resonances therefore it is often useful to upgrade such simple models for special
tasks. Furthermore for dynamically soft materials (like steel) the frequency
dependence on the impedance Z of the structure must be taken into account.
1.1.3
Whole-body vibration standards
This section gives an overview of the existing standards and regulations for
measuring and evaluating whole-body vibrations with national (German) and
international character mainly from the German Institute for Standardization
(DIN; Deutsches Institut f
ur Normung e.V.), the Club of German Engineers (VDI; Verein Deutscher Ingenieure) and the International Standards
Organization (ISO). In different nations various other national standards like
the British Standards (BS) or the American National Standards (ANS) exist.
Users of any standards should base their work on the full documents and
not on this summarized study.
The word standard has many different meanings and interpretations including defined evaluation procedures, limits, indications of what individuals may expect (suggest attributes), quality or acceptability, etc. Several
existing standards on human response to vibration exhibit a confusing mixture of objectives: there has been a tendency to produce human vibration
standards which partially define a vibration evaluation procedure and partially define a vibration limit. In several standards incomplete knowledge
17
and uncertainty has been reflected in the definition of ambiguous evaluation

procedures with rigid limits, rather than unambiguous evaluation procedures
with uncertain limits. Since a limit is meaningless without the evaluation
procedure, it is clear that a standardization of procedures is a prerequisite
to the standardized limits (Griffin, 1990). When the two possible principle
functions of standards are separated in this way it also becomes clear that
a standard does not even need to define limits. Additionally, humans are
exposed to vibrations at varying locations and conditions which is another
aspect of standards: limits, which take into account all situations worldwide,
will probably not be optimal for many local areas or specific activities (like
in industry, traffic, daily life, buildings, etc.).
The first German guideline (standard) was the VDI 2057 edited in 1963. The
ISO (International Standards Organization) published the first international
standard (ISO 2631) in 1974. Thence the German VDI guidelines were
revised in order to find a concordance with the ISO standard. The latest
version of the VDI 2057 (Effect of mechanical vibrations on human beings4 ,
1987) is separated into four parts:
Part 1: Fundamentals - Classifications - Terms
Part 2: Evaluation
Part 3: Assessment
Part 4: Measurements and assessment of workshop places in buildings
The second published guideline in German language was the DIN 4150 (Vibrations in buildings5 , 1975). It was made for architects and engineers who
work in the building trade. This standard is based on the VDI 2057 and
on some other standards from the building trade. Additionally, the VDI
2057 takes into account that vibrating surfaces emit sound (infrasound and
audible sound).
This study refers to the following evaluation and analysis methods from the
(ISO 2631-1, 1997; ISO 2631-2, 1989) because those standards are more
common and the guidelines in German language have high concordance
with them.
The ISO 2631 was published in 1974 [...] in order to give numerical values
for limits of exposure to vibrations transmitted from solid surfaces, e.g., in
buildings to the human body in a frequency range from 1 to 80 Hz (ISO
2631-1, 1997). This ISO (Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body
vibration) is separated into three main parts:
4 Einwirkung
mechanischer Schwingungen auf den Menschen in German

im Bauwesen in German
5 Ersch
utterungen
18
Chapter 1. Theory
Part 1: General requirements

Part 2: Continuous and shock-induced vibration in buildings (1 to
80 Hz).
Part 3: Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body z-axis vertical
vibration in the frequency range 0.1 to 1 Hz.
In the last nearly 30 years, some complete revisions of the standard have
been made which considered knowledge from present studies to eliminate
remaining ambiguity and replace those aspects which are untenable or unnecessary. The last revisions are: from 1997 for the Part 1 and from 1989
for the Part 2 whereas the committee starts with a new revision in the year
2000 for Part 2.
The ISO 2631 defines methods for quantification, evaluation and analysis
on human response to whole-body vibrations concerning different aspects:
1. Health risk
2. Comfort and Perception
3. Motion Sickness
Thereby the first two items indicate vibrations in a frequency range from 1
to 80 Hz whereas the third item considers vibrations from 0.1 to 0.5 Hz or
from 0.1 to 1 Hz. The following presented methods are only applicable for
periodic, randomized and transient vibrations signals (sinusoidal or complex)
but not for evaluation of extreme magnitudes single shocks which occur
in ,e.g., vehicle accidents.
The first part of ISO 2631 gives an overview of the used symbols and subscripts, vibration axes, frequencies and magnitudes. Additionally, ISO 26311 defines measuring methods and analysis parameters which depend on the
time and frequency domain, psychophysically motivated weighting functions,
etc. The second part of the ISO 2631-2 defines how the methods of the
basic standard should be extended to allow the assessment of building vibrations. Limits of acceptability of vibrations in various building types and
perception thresholds in all three directions (x/y/z-axes) for whole-body vibrations are included in this part as well. The principal frequency weightings
are based on the specified curves in the ISO 2631-1.
The physical force of vibrations is measurable as acceleration a [m/s2 ], velocity v [m/s] or displacement x [m]. The conversion into these different
components is given by the temporal integration or derivation. The acceleration a is used for the representation of vibration parameters and signals in
19
Tab. 1.1: Most relevant parameters for vibration time signals (adapted from
Meloni (1991).
Parameter
Definition
mean
x
=
standard deviation
root-mean-square
r.m.s =
crest factor
peakvalue
rms
root-mean-quad value
r.m.q. =
Vibration Dose Value
V DV =
estimated Vibration Dose Value
eV DV =
1
N
1
N
x(i)
i 21
P
[x(i) x
]2
h
1
N
i 12
x2 (i)
1
N
i 14
x4 (i)
TS
N
i 14
x4 (i)
4 i 14
1.4(r.m.s) TS
nearly all present studies. Whereas an acceleration level of LV ib = 140 dB

corresponds to an acceleration of a = 10 m/s2 g. The following measurement and evaluation methods for human response to vibrations are defined
in the present ISO 2631.
The evaluation of a vibration signal is possible in the time domain or in the
frequency domain. In the time domain an analysis points out parameters
like: peak value , standard deviation, root mean square value (rms), running
rms, crest factor, energy equivalent rms, estimated Vibration Dose Value
(eVDV), root-mean-quad value (rmq) or Vibration Dose Value (VDV). The
evaluations and weightings in the frequency domain can be realized via a
Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) or in the power spectrum. The most
important parameters are summarized in Tab. 1.1. Whereas the period TS
of the vibration time signal with a frequency fs is sampled with N = TS fs
values for x(i).
Not only the physical variables like magnitude and frequency are important
but also exogenous variables: e.g., posture and body-size of the subjects,
exposure and endogenous variables: e.g., age and gender have influence on
the perception of vibrations (Meloni, 1991).
Human are able to discriminate six different kinds of vibrations which are
20
Chapter 1. Theory
specified in ISO 2631-1 and VDI 2057-2: three translational directions, that
means vibrations in x-, y- and z-direction (basicentric axis), as well as three
rotational directions: around the x- (roll), the y- (pitch) and the z-axis
(yaw). The basicentric axes are defined according to the orientation of the
body with respect to gravity (Fig. 1.8 after ISO 2631-1).
The vibrations should be measured at the contact area with the human body.
The disturbance variables or quantity, for example the body-resonances or
interaction effects, between the human body and the moving surface are
not taken into account. The evaluation of vibration is defined by the specification of the rms value of the acceleration a in m/s2 for translational and
for rotational vibrations in rad/s2 , Eq. 1.7:
"
1
aw =
T
ZT
# 12
a2w (t)dt
(1.7)
with
w
a2w (t)
T
= weighting factor for different conditions

= instantaneous frequency-weighted acceleration
= integration time for running averaging
Fig. 1.8: The orientation of

the basicentric axes to the
gravitational field, specified
in, e.g., ISO 2631-1 (1997);
VDI 2057-2 (1987).
21
Vibration signals with more than one frequency component should be subdivided into 1/3 octave steps. The acceleration is described by the current
center frequency fc . The measured vibrations are weighted for different
conditions, e.g., body-posture or measuring position of the vibrations, with
different frequency weightings W . Therefore the ith center frequency corresponds to the principal frequency weighting factor Wi . Weighting factors are frequency dependent and they respond to filter functions which
are the inverted standardized perception threshold curves after ISO 26312 (Fig. 1.9). The weighting factors given in Fig. A.1 and Tab. A.1 in
Appendix A shall be used for a conversion of 1/3 octave band data. The
overall weighted acceleration aw shall be determined in accordance with the
following equation (Eq. 1.8) or its digital equivalent in the time or frequency
domain:
"
# 12
X
2
(1.8)
aw =
(Wi ai )
i
with
Wi
ai
= frequency weighting factor for the ith center frequency of the

ith 1/3 octave band
= rms acceleration of the ith 1/3 octave band
If the vibration signal includes vibrational components in more than one

direction, the vibration total value aV of the weighted rms accelerations
determined from vibrations in orthogonal coordinate-systems, is calculated
as follows:
1
aV = (kx2 a2wx + ky2 a2wy + kz2 a2wz ) 2
(1.9)
with
awx , awy , awz
kx2 , ky2 , kz2
= weighted rms accelerations with respect to the orthogonal

axes x, y or z, respectively
= multiplying factors for special axes
The rms acceleration is not useful if the crest factor of a given transient
vibration signal is high because the human body is more sensitive to changes
in the vibration signal. Furthermore, the rms value does not exceedingly
point out the peaks in a signal. Instead of the rms value the running rms
value aw (t0 ) (i), Eq. 1.10 is used with short durations if transient vibrations
22
Chapter 1. Theory
occur:
Zt0
"
1
aw (t0 ) =
# 21
a2w (t)dt
(1.10)
t0
or the Vibration Dose Value VDV (ii), sometimes called fourth-power vibration dose, which is more sensitive for peak values, is used if high peak values
occur in the vibration signal (like shock conditions):
" ZT
V DV =
# 41
a4w (t)dt
(1.11)
The VDV is a method of assessing the cumulative effects (i.e. dose) of

vibrations. If the crest factor is low (i.e. less than 6.0), the estimated Vibration Dose Value (eVDV) is sometimes used to calculate the approximate
vibration dose value from the rms of the frequency-weighted accelerations
(arms ) and the exposure time t in seconds:
eV DV = 1.4 arms t1/4
(1.12)
When more than one stimulus is presented the total VDV must be calculated
from the fourth root of the sum of the fourth powers of individual vibration
dose values:
"
# 14
X
4
V DVtotal =
V DVi
(1.13)
i
Rotational vibration exposures should be assessed in terms of translational

vibration occurring over the principal contact area with the human body. In
appendix A the Tab. A.3 shows the root-mean-square accelerations which
produce a vibration dose value of 15 m/s1.75 . This value is a kind of upper
limit for human bodies and is specified in the BS 6841 (1987a) for sinusoidal
excitation in a frequency range from 0.5 to 80 Hz for durations from 1 s up
to 8 h.
This section only deals with universal evaluation methods for the human
response to whole-body vibration until here. The following part handles the
special evaluation methods for the perception and comfort sensation which
are specified in ISO 2631-1. The highest (rms) acceleration in one direction
for measured vibrations is the equivalent stimulus for the used signal. Fifty
percent of alert, fit persons can just detect a Wk weighted vibration with
a peak magnitude of about 0.015 m/s2 (ISO 2631-1, 1997). There is a
large interindividual variation in the ability to perceive vibrations so that
23
the interquatile range of response may extend from about 0.01 m/s2 to
0.02 m/s2 . ISO 2631-2 specifies these predictions for the perception of
vibrations in buildings and defines standardized perception thresholds in
x/y/z-directions in a frequency range from 1 to 80 Hz, Fig. 1.9.
Acceleration Level [dB]
110
x,yaxis base curve

zaxis base curve
combineddirection criteria curve
0.316
100
0.1
90
0.031
80
0.01
70
0.0031
60
1
1.6
2.5
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
Acceleration [m/s2]
120
0.001
100
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 1.9: Building vibration x/y- and z-axis base curve (perception thresholds
defined in ISO 2631-2 (1989); VDI 2057-2 (1987)) for acceleration levels on the
left y scale and for accelerations on the right y scale. In addition the building
vibration combined direction (x/y/z-axis) acceleration curve which should be used
when the direction of the human occupants varies or is unknown with respect to
the most interfering or annoying vibrations.
The human body has the same sensitivity for vibrations in x- and y-directions
after existing standards like ISO 2631-1 ( Fig. 1.9). The most sensitive frequency range for horizontal vibrations is from 0.1 to 2 Hz (a = 0.0036 m/s2 )
and increases with increasing frequency with 6 dB/octave This slope corresponds to a proportionality between the perception and a constant velocity.
In the vertical direction the human body is more sensitive than for horizontal vibrations in the frequency range from 3 Hz upwards. Between 4
and 8 Hz the human body has the highest sensitivity for vertical vibrations.
The base curve increases or decreases for higher or lower frequencies with
6 dB/octave, respectively. For vibrations where the direction of the human
occupants varies or is unknown a combined base curve from the horizon-
24
Chapter 1. Theory
120
0.316
60
32
100
0.1
16
8
90
0.031
80
0.01
2
1.4
1
70
60
1
Acceleration [m/s2]
110
1
curve = 128
90
0.0031
1.6
2.5
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
0.001
100
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 1.10: Combined-direction criteria curves (this represents a combination for
the worst case for all three axes). Curves are shown corresponding to the various
multiplying factors given in A.4 after ISO 2631-2 (1989).
tal and vertical curve should be used with respect to the most interfering
or annoying vibration (Fig. 1.9). Those combined standard base curves
could be used for preliminary investigations to decide whether further investigation is necessary (ISO 2631-2, 1989). Moreover, state-to-the-art
information on results of surveys on the magnitudes of building vibration
found to be satisfactory with respect to human response is presented in
Fig. 1.10 (and Tab. A.4 in Appendix C). The curves in Fig. 1.10 are based
on basic weighting curves and perception thresholds for no specific vibration
direction. Sometimes these curves are called equivalent-comfort contours
and are based on the perception threshold which is multiplied with constant
factors.
It is just briefly noted that in some countries the z- and x/y- base curves
are used rather than the provisional combined weighting curve (e.g., in
VDI 2057-2, 1987). These curves are summarized in Fig A.2 (in Appendix A). In addition, a second difference between the ISO 2631 and
the VDI 2057 is the application of the parameter vibration force K (in
German Schwingungsstarke) instead of frequency weighted accelerations
aw for evaluation of vibration signals. The vibration force K depends on
25
the frequency, as well. Withal the frequency weighted acceleration awz corresponds to a vibration force KZ, whereas KX and KY indicate awx and
awy , respectively. The relation between the frequency weighted acceleration
after ISO 2631-1 and the VDI 2057-2 is given by Eq. 1.15:
awx
KX = 28
m/s2
KY
28
awy
m/s2
KZ
20
awz
m/s2
(1.14)
The K values specified in VDI 2057-2 are based on the 1/3 octave spectrum
of a vibration signal with a frequency weighting of:
ax
1 Hz f 2 Hz : KX = 28
m/s2
KY
28
ay
m/s2
2 Hz f 80 Hz : KX
56
Hz
ax
2
m/s
f
KY
1 Hz f 4 Hz : Kz
4 Hz f 8 Hz : KZ
20
8 Hz f 80 Hz : KZ
160
ay
Hz
2
m/s
f
p
az
20
f /Hz
m/s2
56
az
m/s2
Hz
az
2
m/s
f
(1.15)
The (center) frequency fc and the rms value a should be used in Eq. 1.16.
If the direction of the vibration signal, which is transmitted to the human
body, is unknown a combined base curve from the horizontal and vertical
curve can be used (Eq. 1.16). The calculated vibration parameter is called
KB-value:
1 Hz f 2 Hz : KB
28
a
m/s2
26
Chapter 1. Theory
2 Hz f 8 Hz : KB
33.5
a p
4
Hz/f
m/s2
8 Hz f 80 Hz : KB
160
az
Hz
m/s2 f
(1.16)
In reference to comfort the acceptable values of vibration magnitude depends on many factors which vary with each application like the passenger
expectations with regards to trip duration and the type of activities passengers expect to accomplish. Therefore, a special limit is not defined in
ISO 2631. The values approximate indications of likely reactions to various
magnitudes of overall vibration total values in public transport6 (Tab. 1.2).
Tab. 1.2: Approximate magnitudes of overall (rms) vibration total values (aV
in m/s2 ) in public transport. Scale of vibratory (dis-)comfort adapted from ISO
2631-1 (1997).
weighted acceleration aV [m/s2 ]
(Dis-) comfort categories
< 0.315
not uncomfortable
0.315 to 0.63
a little uncomfortable
0.5 to 1
fairly uncomfortable
0.8 to 1.6
uncomfortable
1.25 to 2.5
very uncomfortable
>2
extremely uncomfortable
Guidelines for the effect of whole-body vibration on health is provided in ISO

2631-1, as well as for vibration transmitted by the seat. The assessment is
based on the largest measured translational component of the frequency
weighted acceleration. This value should be compared with the health caution zone in Fig. 1.11 specified in ISO 2631-1. Assuming responses are
related to energy, two different daily energy-equivalent vibration are indicated in different studies - the dashed (Eq. 1.17) and dotted (Eq. 1.18) line,
6 Given
in ISO 2631-1 (1997).
27
respectively:
"P
aw,e
=
"P
aw,e
a2 T
Pwi i
Ti
a4 T
Pwi i
Ti
# 12
(1.17)
# 14
(1.18)
with
aw,e
awi
= equivalent vibration magnitude

= vibration magnitude for exposure duration Ti
The lower and upper dotted lines correspond to vibration dose values of 8.5
and 17, respectively.
Fig. 1.11: Health guidance caution zones (adapted from the ISO 2631-2, 1989).
28
1.2
Chapter 1. Theory
Psychophysics and sensoric physiology
In this PhD thesis, psychophysical experiments on the perception of wholebody vibrations are conducted in Chapter 3 to 5. Therefore, a short overview
about basics of psychophysics and sensoric physiology is given in this section.
Additionally, psychophysical measuring methods, which are used for the
following experiments, are briefed, as well.
1.2.1
Sensation threshold
In the 19th century the knowledge about the functioning of the sense organs was very limited. The sensoric physiology was started to investigate
the relation between the subjective sensation (perception) and the objective
stimulus. The goal was to find objective parameters which can describe and
forecast the subjective perception of a sensory stimulus. At the beginning
of these investigations is the intensity-dimension of the sensation and the
classification which is called psychophysics ( described in, e.g., Zwicker &
Fastl, 1999; Schmidt & Thews, 1995). The central concept of the psychophysics is to determine the sensoric (intensity-) thresholds, which can be
separated into two groups: 1) absolute threshold: smallest detectable intensity or magnitude of a special stimulus that produce a subjective sensation.
2) difference threshold or just noticeable differences. Those differences are
the relative difference thresholds in a stimulus magnitude. The relation (relative difference threshold /) between the absolute detected differences
of the magnitude () and the magnitude () of a stimulus is a constant
ratio (as proposed by E.H. Weber). This law is stated by Eq. 1.19:
=c
or
= c
(1.19)
The boundary of the application of the Weber-law is around the absolute

threshold of a special stimulus because the quotient / is not constant.
The Weber-law does not generally hold at the absolute thresholds, i.e. the
constant c rises. For example, the Weber-quotient does not deliver a constant ratio until the stimuli are 40 dB above the absolute threshold in psychoacoustics (Fig.1.12). Probably the reason is that the (sensation) perception is superposed by stochastic processes, called internal noise. For stimuli
near the thresholds the Weber-law must be modified by a constant n which
takes into account the internal noise, Eq. 1.20:
=c
+n
or
= c ( + n)
(1.20)
1.2. Psychophysics and sensoric physiology
29
The constant n represents the internal noise and the spontaneous activity
of the nerve fibers, respectively. If increases, the influence of n is not
important, but if decreases n gets more and more important.
Absolute threshold The absolute threshold can be explained with such a

constant: the absolute threshold is the stimulus which is significantly higher
than the stimulus caused by spontaneous activity. This psychophysical the-
Fig. 1.12:
Weberquotient and Weber-law:
1) Relation between the
output stimuli magnitude
() and the stimuli
increment () (Just
Noticeable
Difference
JND in the force
sense:
= const.).
2) Dependence of the
Weber-quotient (/)
from the output stimulus
magnitude
,e.g.,
for
acoustic stimuli.
3)
Revision of the Weberquotient with a constant
n for close-by threshold
stimuli (adapted from
Schmidt & Thews, 1995).
30
Chapter 1. Theory
ory is applicable in the sensory decision theory or signal detection theory

(SDT). Furthermore, the sensory signal detection theory assumes that the
determination of thresholds does not only depend on the sensoric selectivity but also regards the subjective decision processes. That means, that a
stimulus with a fixed neural excitation around the absolute threshold is not
always distinguishable between a perception (sensation) of a stimulus and
a spontaneous activity of the nerve fiber. This problem does not exist for
magnitudes above the absolute threshold.
Usually, biological systems (like the ear or the sense of touch) are variables
in the reaction of a fixed stimulus, so that, e.g., stimuli magnitudes below
the absolute threshold are detectable, as well. It is customary in the psychophysics to define the absolute threshold as the level (for example, sound
pressure level or acceleration level) at which the stimulus (sound or vibration) is detected with a probability of 50% (Gelfand, 1998). That means
50% of all presented stimuli with a fixed parameter, like the level, the stimulus is detected and in 50% it is not. Therefore the absolute threshold is
equivalent with a correct response-probability of P (L) = 50% of the psychometric function. Therefore, psychophysical measuring methods with several
repetitions such as the like method of constant stimuli, alternative force
choice (AFC) methods, method of limits, etc. are often used to measure
the absolute threshold. With some of these measuring methods it is possible
to measure not only absolute thresholds but also difference thresholds and
many other psychophysical parameter (Chapter 1.2.2).
Psychometric function The psychometric function characterizes the subjective response behavior of an individual (subject) or group of individuals
(mean of subjects) depending on the force of a given stimulus parameter
in a psychophysical experiment. For example, the given correct responseprobability P (L) to detect a stimulus is printed as a function of the level,
Fig 1.13. This means that the psychometric function shows the probability
(percentage) of correct responses for different stimulus levels (or magnitude
as in Fig 1.13). Therefore in such measurements a lot of stimuli with
different levels must be presented to a subject with some stimulus repetitions. The interpolated function of the measured data is called psychometric
function7 and is often well fitted as a cumulated shape of the normal distribution (integral of the Gauss distribution). Functions like this are often
called ogive. If the stimulus level is printed as a function of the relative (determined) incidence in terms of probability values (z-values) then the values
are ordered in a straight line (Fig. 1.13), as well. This fact is of theoretical
7 looks
often like a S
31
interest since it shows that a statistical process is qualified by fluctuations

of the sensation. The probability P (L) (detected stimulus) results from a
relative occurrence of correct responses at, e.g., a fixed stimulus level L.
Fig. 1.13: Psychometric function: 1) The relative incidence ordered by the stimulus magnitude. 2) The s-shapes of the psychometric function corresponds often
to the integral of the Gauss distribution curve (ogive). The psychometric function becomes a straight line, if the relative incidence is transformed into z-values
(adapted from Schmidt & Thews, 1995).
Many time-consuming measurements at many different levels must be conducted to get the whole shape of a psychometric function, which describes
the dependence of, i.e., the perception of vibration on the presented acceleration level (Chapter 3.3). A second possibility is to measure some
points, especially around the expected absolute threshold, and to make a
conformance (fit) of the whole shape by using a model-function or costfunction. Some of the presented stimuli with varied objective parameter
(here the level) are detectable for the subjects and some are not, therefore this measurement can be understood as a Bernoulli-experiment with
a correct response-probability P (L). It is possible to fit the whole shape
of the psychometric function with just some measured points by using a
cost-function (sometimes called model-function), as mentioned before. In
this study a maximum likelihood fit is used to fit the psychometric function
to the measured data. For example, in Chapter 3.3 the method of constant
stimuli is used with three (A = 3) given intervals for each trial for the determination of the psychometric function. This means that three intervals
are presented in one trial, whereas just one interval includes a stimulus with
varying level and the other two intervals comprise no signal. The task of
the subjects is to say if they feel a vibration and then to mark that inter-
32
Chapter 1. Theory
val, in which they felt the vibration. The number of intervals A per trial
states the probability P (L) to guess the correct interval the probability to
guess the correct interval is P (L) = (1/A)100%. Therefore, the following
modified logistical model-function for the maximum likelihood fit is used in
Chapter 3.3, Eq.1.22:

1 + (A 1)
1
(1.21)
y =
L50 L
A
1+e s
s =
A1
4 A slope
with free parameters

L50 = Level of 50% correct detected stimuli [dB]
slope = Slope of the psychometric function at L50 [%/dB]
The fitted psychometric function can be characterized or described by the

two free parameters of the model-function, respectively: the level of the
50% point of correctly detected stimuli (L50 ) and the slope parameter s
of the function at this point. The level L50 has the highest slope and is
the central point of the logistical function. That means that L50 is not
always the point with 50% correct response-probability (P (L) = 50%) but
the probability between P (L) = 100% (all presented stimuli are detected)
and the probability to detect by chance.
The exact real intraindividual errors are not possible to determine for such
measurements because just a random (spot) sample for all presented stimuli
levels is used. The errors, which are given by the used measuring method, are
not really known either. But a minimal error estimation can be calculated
for the measured data because a probability P (L) for the variance of a
Bernoulli-experiment is given by Eq. 1.22:
P2 = P (L) (1 P (L))
(1.22)
The number of correctly detected stimuli R is binominal (Bernoulli) distributed for a given random (spot) sample N . A good approximation of
the minimal error estimation for the Bernoulli distribution can be calculated
with the relative occurrence of correct responses R/N by Eq. 1.23:
P =
1 p
P (1 P )
N
(1.23)
33
These errors are just the minimal error estimations (lower boundary), whereas
the real errors are slightly larger than the calculated (shown) errorbars.
1.2.2
Psychophysical measuring methods
The psychophysics deals with how humans (sometimes animals, as well)

perceive the physical stimuli impinging upon their sense organs like the ear
or the skin (Gelfand, 1998). Therefore, the subject actually perceive (sensitivity) and the manner in which they respond (response proclivity) must
be distinguished. Usually in psychophysics the experimenters are interested
in sensory capability (sensitivity). The response proclivity reflects not only
the subjects sensitivity, but also the biases and criteria that affect how they
respond (Gelfand, 1998). However, measured thresholds and other psychophysical results are therefore more or less biased by the used measuring
method and the response behavior of the subjects. The primary goal is
to find out the relationships between the presented stimulus and how the
subjects perceive this stimulus or objective parameters (like the level) of
the stimulus which are suited to describe the subjective perception. Furthermore the objectives are to minimize the bias of the method for specially
selected stimuli and experiments and to get constant and repeatable results.
In the last four decades numerous investigations were made in psychoacoustics to clarify the influence of some measuring parameters on experiments
with audible stimuli.
In this subsection the measuring methods, which are used for the psychophysical experiments in Chapters 3 to 5, are presented and the advantages and disadvantages of those methods are briefly discussed. Most of
the used methods are reliable techniques which are developed and are often
used in psychoacoustics. A good overview and a discussion of many details
for psychophysical experiments is given in, e.g., Gelfand (1998).
Method of constant stimuli The method of constant stimuli involves
the presentation of various stimulus levels to the subject in random order (Gelfand, 1998). Therefore, this method is a nonsequential procedure.
Which means that the presented stimuli with varying levels (or other signal
parameters) are not presented in ascending or in descending order. The task
of the subjects is to indicate whether the stimulus presentation has been perceived during each trial. The range of the varying parameter, like the level,
is fixed, which based upon pilot experiments or previous experience, for all
subjects (Gelfand, 1998). For example, for psychometric function measurements an equal number of stimuli are presented at each level because the
34
Chapter 1. Theory
aim is to determine the probability (P (L)) to detect a stimulus with a fixed

level, as mentioned before. The step-size of the variation of the parameter
must be fixed, as well. The difficulty is to set the step-size because too large
step-sizes may place the highest indetectable presentation at a level with a
10% probability of correct response, and the lowest detectable presentation
at a level with a 90% probability of correct response. For such measured
data it is difficult or impossible to fit the whole shape of the psychometric
function. Therefore some of the presented levels must be (i) around the expected absolute threshold, (ii) below and not detectable for all subjects
and (iii) some must be above the estimated absolute threshold, respectively.
The advantage of the method of constant stimuli, as opposed to the methods of limits and adjustments, is the higher precision of the measurement. However, the method of constant stimuli is also applicable for various
other experiments above the absolute threshold such as difference threshold
measurements or the equal-loudness level contour measurements. In such
measurements the relation between a subjective sensation (perception) and
an objective signal parameter is investigated, as well. For example, for measuring the equal-loudness level contours the subjects have to compare two
different stimuli with, e.g., different frequencies and different levels. The
task for the subjects is to say which of the perceived stimuli is, e.g., louder.
The point of subjective equality (PSE) is that point at which the two different stimuli are subjectively equal in their perception. But the method has
some disadvantages, as well. It is very inefficient because a very large number of trials are needed to obtain results and this is very time-consuming.
Another disadvantage of the method of constant stimuli is that the presented level range for the determination of, e.g., the equal-loudness level
contours has a considerable influence on the measured data because in the
run-up to the measurements it is not known where the PSE of the subjects
(individuals) is ranged. This influence or bias is called the range effect
and is described for the equal-loudness level contours by Gabriel (1996)
and Reckhardt et al. (1997). These range effects could have an influence of
about 15 dB on the equal-loudness level contours by using the same method
but with different presented level ranges (Reckhardt et al., 1997).
Adaptive alternative force choice (AFC) method In Chapter 3 an
adaptive A - AFC x up - y down measuring method (Levitt, 1971) is used for
the determination of the perception threshold of vertical sinusoidal wholebody vibrations (Chapter 3.5) and the measurements of the just noticeable
differences in level and in frequency (Chapter 3.6). The advantages of an
adaptive procedure is that the level at which a particular stimulus is presented to a subject depends on the response of the subject to the previous
35
stimuli (e.g., described in Levitt, 1971). The adaptive procedure can be

combined with some other measuring methods like AFC-methods (Levitt,
1971). Additionally, an adaptive AFC measuring method is very fast because just one position (probability P(L)) on the psychometric function is
measured. Moreover, many studies in psychoacoustics report about the high
repeatability of such methods.
In an A - AFC method A intervals are presented to the subjects during
one trial, whereas A 1 of these intervals include the reference stimuli
and one interval implies the test stimulus. The task of the subjects is
to mark that interval which includes the test stimulus. For example, for an
absolute threshold measurement the reference stimuli includes no detectable
signals and the test stimulus is a signal with a fixed frequency and with a
variable level (for example, in Chapter 3.5). Therefore the subjects have
to mark that interval in which they are able to detect (hear or perceive) a
stimulus . If they cannot detect a stimulus they must choose one interval
(alternative force choice). The option x up - y down characterizes the
changing (adapting) procedure of the varying stimulus parameter. That
means that the parameter range, which is presented to the subjects, is not
fixed but would be influenced by the response behavior of the subjects,
as mentioned before. The up-down strategy tends to converge on that
stimulus level at which the probability of a down response sequence equals
the probability of an up responses sequence2 (Levitt, 1971). For example,
for a 1 up - 2 down strategy the probability of obtaining an up sequence is
P (X)[1 P (X)] + [1 P (X)] whereas P (X) is the probability of a positive
response at the stimulus level. This means that after 2 correctly detected
test stimuli the parameter decreases (down sequence) which is characterized
by [P (X)]2 . The level increases (up sequences) if (i) 1 test stimulus is not
detected (or a wrong interval is marked) [1P (X)] or (ii) if the test stimulus
is correctly detected one time (P (X)) and the next stimulus is not detected
([1 P (X)] P (X)) thereafter. Therefore the strategy converges on a fixed
correctly detected probability. For example, Eq. 1.24:
2-down sequence

2
P (X)

2
P (X)

2
P (X)
P (X)
= 1-up sequence

= P (X) 1 P (X)] + 1 P (X)

2
= P (X) P (X) + 1 P (X)
=
=
0.5
2
0.5 = 0.707
(1.24)
With the variation of the up-down sequences (procedure) different positions

(probability P(X)) on the psychometric function could be measured. Some
36
Chapter 1. Theory
Tab. 1.3: Response groupings for transformed up-down strategies. Entry 1

corresponds to the simple up-down procedure (adapted from Levitt, 1971).
Response sequence
up
down
Response groupings
group
group
Probability of a sequence from down

group = P (down])
Probability of positive
response at convergence
P (X)
P (X) = 0.5
[P (X)]2
P (X) = 0.707
[1 P (X)] + P (X)
P (X) = 0.293
[P (X)]3
P (X) = 0.794
[P (X)]4
P (X) = 0.841
common up-down sequences, which are often used for psychophysical experiments, are summarized in Tab. 1.3 which is adapted from Levitt (1971).
Adaptive means that the initial step-size of the test stimulus parameter
(e.g., the level as in Chapter 3) is halved after each upper reversal to a fixed
final step-size. The advantage of the adaptive option is that the parameter
range of the starting condition can be very large. Additionally, no prior
knowledge of where the threshold (or the PSE) is located is required. Usually
a large initial step-size is used and then the step-size becomes smaller as
the threshold approach. Therefore a lot of stimuli are presented around the
individuals threshold. The method stops after a fixed number of reversals
with the (smallest) final step-size. The individual result (e.g., the perception
threshold) is in this study the median of the values taken from the reversals
with the final step-size. The order of the test and reference stimuli should be
randomized to prohibit order effects. A schematic overview of an adaptive
AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method is given in Fig 1.14.
Interleaved measuring method In Chapter 3.7 an adaptive 2 - AFC interleaved 1 up - 1 down method (Buus et al., 1997) is used for the measurement of the equal-vibration level contours (Chapter 3.7). The option interleaved means that several measurements with different test stimuli (in
37
110
-2
108
initial step-size
-4
-6
106
104
-8
Attenuation [dB]
102
Threshold:
-10
100
median value of the reversals

with the ending step-size
-12
98
-14
96
-16
-18
94
-20
-22
90
92
88
ending step-size
-24
86
-26
84
-28
-30
82
80
-32
78
-34
76
11
13
15
17
19
21 23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37 39
41
43
No. of presentation
Fig. 1.14: Schematic overview of an adaptive AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring

method. After two correctly detected test stimuli the level of the test-signal
decreases and if the test stimulus is not detected the level increases. The result
is the median value of the reversals with the final step-size.
Chapter 3.7 sinusoidal vibration signals with different test-frequencies) and

different starting conditions for the variable stimulus parameter (e.g., the
initial level of the test vibrations) are measured simultaneously in one measuring procedure, whereas each test stimulus is compared to the same reference stimulus. This measuring method was presented by Buus et al. (1997)
for loudness experiments and minimizes the influence of several measuring
parameters on the results. A study of Reckhardt et al. (1998) shows that
this measuring method minimizes the range effect on equal-loudness level
contours therefore this method is used for the determination of the equalvibration level contours (Chapter 3.7). The advantages of this method is
that the subjects do not know which test stimulus with which variable level
will be presented in the next trial (presentation). Fig. 1.15 gives a schematic
overview of this method with four different test stimuli which are measured
in one method trial simultaneously. The order of the test and the reference
stimulus, as well as the order of the different test stimuli are randomized to
prohibit order effects. The starting conditions of the test-stimuli should be
very high and the order of the starting conditions should be randomized to
prohibit range effects, as well. With the adaptive 2 - AFC 1 up - 1 down
method the point of subjective equality (PSE, P (L) = 50%) is determined.
38
Chapter 1. Theory
0.56
0.316
105
0.178
100
0.1
95
0.056
90
0.031
110
Acceleration [m/s ]
Acceleration level [dB]
115
TestFrequency 1
TestFrequency 2
TestFrequency 3
TestFrequency 4
Fig. 1.15: Illustration

of
an
interleaved
measuring
method.
Typical data for this
measuring
method
with four different
test stimuli (e.g., testfrequencies) which are
used in one measuring
procedure.
Nr. of Presentation
Psychophysical connections
The psychophysical laws and relationships link the objective parameter of a
stimulus (for example, the magnitude) and the subjective sensation. Two
famous competing descriptions exist in the literature: the Fechner- and the
Stevens-law. The Fechner-law is often called Weber-Fechner-law because it
is based on the description from E. H. Weber and is the most important
law in psychophysics. The Weber-Fechner-law defines that a logarithmically
increasing stimulus magnitude yields a linear increase of the subjective
sensation (perception) (Eq. 1.25).
= k log10 (
) with k = const.
o
(1.25)
The Weber-Fechner-law needs some basic requirements: the detection thresholds are based on the same detection level (DL) of the increase of the sensation level (SL), which means that the same magnitude increment delivers
the same perceptual increase for low and high magnitudes. This relation was
found for some sensory systems, like the human ear. The decibel-scale is a
well known example for the Fechner relation in psychoacoustics. However,
the just noticeable differences in level (JNDL) are about 1 dB. This finding
is valid for broadband signals over a large level range but for narrow band
signals (or pure tones) the JNDLs are higher than 1 dB for low magnitudes
(around the absolute threshold) and decrease for higher magnitudes (e.g.,
Zwicker & Fastl, 1999). This deviation is often called near miss to Webers
law in the literature and originates from a special excitation of the basilar
membrane by sinusoidal signals (pure tones).
39
The other description between the objective stimulus magnitude and the
perception is called the Stevens potential-law. After this law the relation can be described by a potential function and a variable potential
(EQ. 1.26). The basic principle of such a measurement is to determine a
proportional correlation between the objective and subjective data (see, for
example, Kieling et al., 1997).
= k ( o )
with
k = const.
(1.26)
The Fechner relation describes the noticeable differences of stimuli rather

than the subjective perceptual force. As opposed to this the Stevens-law
points out that the perceptual force should be valued directly instead of the
Fechner-law. The Fechner- and Stevens-law need different scales for the
description of the perceptual magnitude. For example, the Stevens-law uses
a direct scaling of the perceptual magnitude like twice or half of a reference
magnitude. This scale is called a rational-scale. In comparison, Fechner
uses an indirect scaling method from the detection levels which just posses
the rank of a ordinal-scale. A good example for the Weber-Fechner-law
and the Stevens-law is the determination of the psychoacoustic parameter
loudness N . The loudness describes the perceived intensity (magnitude)
of noise. The subjective loudness N depends on the presented level of
the stimulus in psychoacoustics. There are different methods of subjective
loudness scaling (ratio and categorical). One way to determine the influence
is to estimate the loudness with a ratio-scale by subjects which was proposed
by S. S. Stevens. The unit of this scale is [sone] and 1 sone is defined as
the loudness of a 1 kHz pure tone of 40 dB SPL (Eq. 1.27).
N=
I
I0
!
(1.27)
I is the magnitude (intensity) of the stimulus and I0 is the magnitude of a

reference stimulus at 1 kHz with a level of 40 dB which corresponds to a
loudness of N = 1 sone, as mentioned before. The exponent is 0.3, if a
large number of subjects is used. A pure tone with 1 kHz of 2 sone has a
loudness which is subjective twice as strong as the 1 sone tone. This signal
has a level of 50 dB SPL because an increase by 10 dB doubles the loudness
above 40 dB SPL for a 1 kHz tone8 . This reflects the fact that the relation
between the ratio scaled loudness and the sound pressure is a power law.
The Stevens potential-law (1.27) is reached, if the estimated numbers of
the loudness are figured as a function of the presented level.
8 An increase of 10 dB corresponds to an increase of the intensity of a factor 10 and
100.3 = 2.
40
Chapter 1. Theory
Another way to investigate the subjective loudness sensation (perception) is

to use an indirect scaling method with categorical scales (like the W
urzburger
Horfeldskalierung according to Heller, 1985, which uses 50 different categories or the Oldenburger H
orflachenskalierung according to Hohmann and
Kollmeier, 1995, which uses 11 different categories9 ). The relation between
the loudness in categorical units and the level of the test stimulus is a
straight line. This finding obtains just in the middle level range. Which
means that the perceived subjective loudness N increases in proportion to
the logarithm of the magnitude I. Differences of the logarithm of the loudness N in sone just occur at very low and very high levels (e.g., diagrammed
in Kieling et al., 1997). Therefore the sone scale can be described with
the Weber-Fechner law, as well, if the logarithm of the estimated numbers
is used instead of the numbers themselves. However, the relation between
the objective parameter and the subjective perception of a stimulus is usually describable by the Weber-Fechner-law in psychophysics, as mentioned
before. Some more examples and more details can be found in many textbooks about psychophysics and psychoacoustics (e.g., Kieling et al., 1997;
Zwicker & Fastl, 1999).
Integrated sensoric physiology
The modern sensoic physiology often investigates integrating problems, which
form the background of physiological and perceptual processes. With such
an integrated sensoric physiology it is possible to control experimental results of the (objective) sensoric physiology like the differences between the
absolute sensation thresholds and the neuronal thresholds. For example,
the psychometric functions are determined on two different positions on the
hand: finger tip and palm. The hypothesis (see above) for this experiment is,
that the threshold is exceeded if the excitation of the sense is distinguishable
from the internal noise n (spontaneous activity) of the nerve fibers. This
hypothesis can be proved in the limits of the integrated sensoric physiology
(Fig. 1.16, which is based on a figure in Schmidt & Thews, 1995). The
ogive-shape of the psychometric function shows that perception is a kind of
statistical process at low magnitudes below and around the absolute threshold. The consequential question is: Is the spontaneous activity a function
of the variability of the nerve fibers or a transmission problem in the central
nervous system (CNS) ? It is possible to measure the derivative of selected
nerve fibers ,e.g., RA-sensors10 (grey line in Fig. 1.16) with methods of the
micro-neurography. The psychometric functions for the nerve fiber and the
9 This
scaling method is qualified for measurements with persons with impaired hearing.
rapidly adapting sensors (Chapter 1.2.3).
10 RA-sensors:
41
measured threshold show no significant differences for the finger tip. This
points out, that a part of the variation can be ascribed to the nerve activity. But for the palm it is totally different. The threshold curve for the
RA-sensors in the palm looks like the curve of the sensors in the finger tip
but the psychometric functions of the subjects are shifted in the magnitude
range (shift to the right side, which means to higher magnitudes). This
is maybe an indicator of an additional information loss in the CNS or an
Fig. 1.16: Absolute thresholds of rapidly adapting

receptors (RA-receptors) in
the skin and the appendant
psychometric function. A)
Psychophsycially
determined absolute perception
threshold and simultaneously
measured derivative of the
skin afferences in a microneurographical experiment.
B) Innervation density of the
RA-receptors at different positions on the palm (adapted
from Schmidt & Thews,
1995).
42
Chapter 1. Theory
Tab. 1.4: Resonance frequencies fR of the human body with an impairment of

health (Martin, 1984).
Part of the body

viscera and venter
main resonance of a standing man
resonance of the pelvis
head
eyes
Frequency range [Hz]

3
4 to 6
10 to 12
20
40 to 100
addition of spontaneous activity in the CNS. This means that the sensation
level (perception threshold) in a sensoric system does not only depend on
the sensitivity of the sensors but also on the transmission reliability in the
CNS and in the special nerve fiber, respectively.
1.2.3
Physiology of the skin (sense of touch)
The somato-visceral sensoric system has three main prediction-inputs: from

the skin, the inner organs and the motion system. The psychophysical
analysis of the skin (sense of touch) characterizes the qualities: pressure,
skin contact and vibration as well as the perception thresholds, positions
of contact and the dependence of the subjective intensity sensation of the
stimuli force. The force of contact is measurable with contact hairs after
von Frey: on the hand, a force of F = 105 N and an amplitude of 1 m
is detectable at a frequency of f = 200 Hz, respectively.
The human body does not have receptors (sensors) just for the perception of vibration. Therefore, the perception of vibration (whole-body or
hand-arm transmitted) must be a concomitant of a particular excitation
sample of the sensor of touch. This is influenced by the transient stimulation of all innervated mechano-receptors (Schmidt & Thews, 1995). The
mechano-receptors are in the skin or in the muscle spindles for deep lying
vibration-receptors like the Pacinian corpuscles. The task of the sensors is
to transmit the received stimulus to the CNS. The muscle spindles are also
responsible for the detection of position conditions and time-dependent position changes of the human body. The translation of the sensations takes
place via afferent nerve fibers which have diameters of approx. 5 to 12 m
and line velocities of 30 to 70 m/s. The absolute threshold of perception is
narrowly coupled with the frequency of the vibration. In addition, the innervation of the skin is influenced by different factors like thickness of the skin,
surrounding cellular tissue (fat, etc.) and the density of the receptors (e.g.,
43
described in Schmidt & Thews, 1995; Iggo, 1973). The body temperature
has an influence on the thresholds, as well. For example, a temperature difference of 4 C from the normal skin temperature of 36 C of human body
is leading to an increase of the absolute perception threshold (Weitz, 1941).
Additionally, the biomechanical behavior of the human body influences the
perception of whole-body vibrations through body resonances. These resonances are in a range from about some Hz up to 100 Hz. An overview about
resonance of the human body is given in Tab. 1.4 in respect to impairments
of health. Additionally, the body resonances depend on the direction and
the transmittance of vibrations into the human body. A simple theoretical
model of the resonance frequencies fR of the human body is given Fig. 1.17.
Numerous investigations were conducted in the field of occupational safety
and health on the basis of the knowledge of health impairment caused by
body resonance.
Four different types of mechano-receptors with group II A-afferent nerve
fibers are found in the hairless skin of mammals: SA-I - (type 1), SA-II (type 2), RA- and PC-sensors which can be characterized by their response
behavior of stimuli excitability and their morphology:
Fig. 1.17: Simple theoretical model of the resonance

frequencies fR of the human
body.
44
Chapter 1. Theory
SA-I and II are slowly adapting sensors. These sensors produce action
potentials in afferent fibers if a long stimulus occurs, especially from
the weight of the body on the feet during a walk.
RA signs the rapidly adapting sensors, which only response on moving
skin-stimulus.
PCs are the Pacinian corpuscles which are very rapidly adapting sensors.
In the hairless skin Merkels discs are SA-I-, Ruffinis endings are SA-II- and
Meissners corpuscles are RA-receptors. Hair-follicles act like RA-sensors
in the skin with hairs instead of Meissners corpuscles. Fig.1.18 gives an
overview about the hairless skin (based on a figure in Griffin, 1990).
The classical psychophysical qualities pressure, contact area and vibration
can be attached to the slowly (type I and II), rapidly adapting sensors and
Pacinian-corpuscles. A mechanical ramp stimulus is used to characterize
the four different sensor-types (Fig. 1.19). The time domain of the stimulus shows parts with constant skin deformation S (proportional to the
intensity), constant velocity v (dS/dt) and with constant acceleration a
(d2 S/dt2 ). Fig. 1.19 indicates that SA-I/II-sensors give responses (firingand spiking-rate) for constant deformations S (pressure, intensity), RAsensors for velocity v and PC-sensors for the acceleration a. SA-I sensors
Fig. 1.18: Cross-section of skin showing the dermis and epidermis (adapted
from Griffin, 1990).
45
are specialized for stimuli which are orthogonal to the skin surface and SA-IIsensors for strain-stimuli. Therefore the four different sensors are specialized
for deformation (intensity), velocity and acceleration.
The reaction time of PC-sensors are in a range of 0, 02 to 0.025 s and less.
This corresponds to frequencies f of 40 to 50 Hz and higher. The Meissner
corpuscles RA-sensors are able to detect stimuli in a frequency range of 5
to 50 Hz and SA-sensors are specialized for detecting low frequency stimuli:
SA-I-sensors < 5 Hz and SA-II-sensors from 8 to 16 Hz after Lofvenberg &
Johansson (1984).
The cutan mechano-receptors are specialized for different stimuli qualities
(S, v and a) as mentioned before. The innervation density of the mechanosensitive afferent nerve fibers in the skin is responsible for the topological
strictness of the sense of touch. The skin area, which is innervated by a
stimulus with a defined intensity, is called the receptive array. For example,
only one afferent nerve fiber is joint with two to ten vicinal Meissners
corpuscles in a human finger. In contrast, 30 hair-follicles are innervated by
just one nerve fiber. In the human hand the receptive arrays for RA- and
SA-I-afferent have a size of about 12 mm2 . These arrays are the smallest
in the human body. The receptive arrays for the SA-II- and PC-afferent are
about a factor ten times higher. However, the size of the receptive arrays is
not important for topological resolution but rather the innervation-density
of afferent fibers per cm2 in the skin. In some parts of the human hand
the topological resolution is highly correlated with the density of SA-I- and
RA-afferent but not of SA-II- and PC-sensors.
SA-I
Merkels
Disk
SA-II
Ruffinis
ending
RA
Meissners
corpuscle
PC
Pacinian
corpuscle
S
d 2S
dt 2
dS
dt
Fig. 1.19: Stimulus responsebehavior of mechano-sensors

in the skin of mammals. The
characteristical spiking rate
patterns (i.e. sequences of
action-potentials in afferent
nerve fibers) of the four types
susceptible sensors in the hairless skin (e.g., hand) are
shown for a mechanical ramp
stimulus. (Figure based on a
diagram in Schmidt & Thews,
1995).
Chapter 2
Simulator
Reliable systems, which produce vibrations in just one direction (e.g., vertical), are necessary for basic studies on human perception of whole-body
vibration in one direction at first. A combination and interaction of vibrations in more than one direction can be investigated with systems, which
produce vibrations in more than one direction, to verify the findings of
the investigations with an excitation in just one direction thereafter. The
lack of detailed information on basic aspects on the perception of vertical vibrations possibly indicates a lack of facilities to conduct research on
these issues. Facilities designed for this purpose tend to have problems with
simulating the dominance of vertical vibrations unless these machines are
very heavy, bulky and expensive. Often hydraulic systems are used which
emit audible sound with a level of 85 dB(A) and more in running condition
(Chapter 1.1.1). With such hydraulic systems investigations on the perception of vibration separated from sound are difficult and investigation about
the influence of audible stimuli on the perception of vibrations are impossible. Smaller, cheaper but reliable systems are needed with very low emitted
sound pressure.
In this chapter the two used systems (simulators) for the production of
whole-body vibration, which are constructed and modified for the application in this study, are presented. Both systems contain electro-dynamic
exciters, called shaker, and are developed for different tasks and experiments. The first simulator is based on the active excitation principle and is
optimized for the production of only vertical whole-body-vibrations (Chapter 2.1) to conduct basic experiments on the perception of vertical vibrations
(Chapter 3). The second simulator is a system to reproduce real sound and
vibration (whole-body, as well as hand-arm transmitted vibration) signals
2.1. Vibration-Floor
47
recorded in idle running cars (Chapter 2.2). These features are needed in
Chapter 5 to investigate the perception of seat-vibrations and the influence
of sound on the subjective comfort caused by seat-vibrations in cars. It is
possible to produce vibrations in all three dimensions (x/y/z-axes) simultaneously or separately with this simulator. A re-active principle is used for
this system.
2.1
Vibration-floor: a system that produces

vertical whole-body vibrations
A reliable system that produces only vertical vibrations (called vibrationfloor) is needed for the investigations on the perception of vertical wholebody vibrations in Chapter 3. The description and construction of the
vibration-floor, which is developed for this study, is presented in this section.
The features like the exciter and the springs (suspensions) are described in
detail. Performance characteristics are discussed including the transfer function and a surface vibration comparison, as well. The system is capable of
producing vertical vibrations up to 3 m/s2 in a frequency range from 5 to
200 Hz in a reliable fashion. The vibrating system is constructed to produce whole-body vibrations and simultaneously emits no or very low sound
pressures which are not audible for low frequencies and around the auditory
threshold for higher frequencies.
2.1.1
General description
The requirements for such a system include:

the capability to produce the range of frequencies and acceleration
levels which are dominant for human perception and comfort research
to produce vibrations just in one direction (in this case vertical)
to be as silent as possible and to avoid interaction between sound and
vibration during psychophysical measurements.
The vibration-floor contains all itemized features and comprises of the following parts (Fig. 2.1): (i) cage, (ii) table, (iii) springs, (iv) electro-dynamic
exciter (called shaker), (v) seat, (vi) control equipment and (vii) measuring equipment. A schematic view and a picture of the system are shown in
Fig 2.1 and 2.2.
48
Chapter 2. Simulator
Seat
1000
Table
Cage
Shaker
Shaker
Suspensions
100
Fig. 2.1: Two schematic views of the vibration-floor. On the left side the system
is shown from the front and on the right side from the side. The whole system is
mounted on a rigid floor (foundation) with screws. The seat / chair is removable.
The whole system has linear guides for motions in only vertical (z-) direction.
The system is located in a 34.56 m3 room with sound absorbing materials

placed on the walls to obtain a silent measuring environment. The room is
built on a separate foundation from the rest of the building. Therefore the
vibration-floor is protected against ambient vibrations (passive isolation),
like subsonic noise. The 1 1 m2 stainless steel table (called shaker-table)
is fitted into a cage which supports the legs with 16 linear guides (steel
rollers). These rollers prohibit motions in horizontal plane (x/y-direction,
Fig. 2.2). The cage has a high mass and is fixed tightly to the ground. The
weight of the table is supported by four pneumatic springs of type Bosch
Bagzylinder x1, placed under each leg of the shaker-table. The surface of the
vibration-floor is designed as a square grid to reduce the surface area and to
make attaching objects (chairs, accelerometers) to the surface easier. The
vibration-floor is excited from below the central point by an electro-dynamic
exciter (active excitation principle). Different types of chairs and seats can
be fixed on the shaker-table.
Electro-dynamic exciter The electro-dynamic exciter is a TIRAVib type
52120 device from TIRA GmbH. The max. exciting force is F = 222 N
for sinusoidal signals and F = 150 Nef f for noise signals. The frequency
range is 2 Hz to 3 kHz for sinusoidal and 10 Hz to 2 kHz for noise signals.
49
Fig. 2.2: Picture of the

vibration-floor which was developed for this study at the
University of Oldenburg.
The maximum acceleration for the unattached tip is 100 g ( 1000 m/s2 )
for sinusoidal and 70 g ( 700 m/s2 ) for noise signals. Peak to peak
displacement is x = 10 mm when the tip is unattached to the table. The
max. acceleration and displacement decrease with increasing mass attached
to the system.
Seat Different types of chairs: rigid chairs as well as real car or aircraft
seats can be fixed to the shaker-table. For the performance assessment
tests, a rigid wooden chair (same chair as in Chapter 3) was fixed to the
surface with the central of gravity directly above the central point of the
table.
Control equipment The control and excitation signals are generated by
Matlab from Mathworks, running on a IBM compatible PC. The generated
signals are then transmitted digitally from the RME Digi 96/Pro soundcard
via optical cable to a Sony TA-E 2000 ESD Digital Processing Control PreAmplifier with a 32 kHz D/A converter. The signals are transmitted to
the main power-amplifier afterwards. The power-amplifier is a A50150 from
50
TIRA, with a power of 500 VA and a frequency bandwidth from 2 Hz to

20 kHz. The control equipment of the vibration-floor is shown in Fig. 2.3
and 3.1.
Signal generator:
PC with digital sound card
(RME DIGI 96/Pro)
Pre-amplifier and
D/A Converter
(Sony TA-E 2000 ESD)
Power amplifier
(TIRA A50150)
Shaker
(TIRA 52120)
Fig. 2.3: Control diagram of the vibration-floor.
Measuring equipment For performance tests, four triaxial accelerometers

(PCB M356A15 from Piezotronics) plus one triaxial seatcushion accelerometer (MMF KB 103SV) are placed at different positions on the table surface
and on other parts of the system such as the chair and the cage. The data
are collected and analyzed by a SQLab II System with the ArtemiS 3.01.100
software package from HEAD acoustics running on an IBM Thinkpad. Further data analysis are made by using Matlab version 5.3.
The mass of the shaker-table is nearly m = 50 Kg. For this reason the
weight of the subjects must be considered because the weight (additional
mass) has an influence on the performance of the vibration-floor. Therefore,
a calibration must be transduced for each subjects to get parameters for
the controlling of the vibration-floor for psychophysical experiments (like in
Chapter 3). An overview of the different measuring positions on the system
is given in Fig. 2.4. The vibration performance of the system is describable
with these nine different positions on the table and two additional positions
at the seat. The position bottom on the bottom of the seat is taken as the
reference position for the following measurements (as well as in Chapter 3).
2.1.2
Dynamic performance of the vibration-floor
The measured performance of the vibration-floor is described in detail in this

section. For the performance tests, the sampling frequency is 1.5 kHz for
acceleration and 32 kHz for acoustic signals. The Discreet Fourier Transform
(DFT) size for data analysis is 1500 samples for acceleration and 32000
samples for the acoustics.
Background conditions The background conditions in the laboratory are
measured to verify if they have any effects on the performance of the system
and on the subjects during psychophysical measurements, e.g., an additional
51
Rear
7
Seat
Left
Cushion
4
Right
Bottom
Front
Fig. 2.4: Measuring positions on the vibration-floor to describe and control the
vibrations on the system and on the seat.
cue for the perception of whole-body vibrations. First, the background

vibrations in the laboratory are measured on the system at the reference
position in vertical (z-)direction. The vibrations are indicated as acceleration
level LV ib [dB] and as acceleration a [m/s2 ]. In Fig. 2.5 the acceleration
level LV ib on the left y-axis and the acceleration a on the right scale of the
0.01
70
60
80
Acceleration [m/s ]
ISO 26312
vertical background vibrations
90
0.001
10
20
40
Frequency [Hz]
80
160
Fig. 2.5: Measured background vibrations in the laboratory on the vibration-floor

at the reference position (dash-dotted line) in vertical (z-) direction. Additionally,
the perception threshold after ISO 2631-2 is shown.
52
50
Sound Pressure Level [dB]
40
30
20
10
audible threshold
(ISO 3897)
16 Hz
0
40
30
emitted sound from

the vibrationfloor
20
10 63 Hz
0
125 Hz
100
1000
Frequency [Hz]
100
1000
Fig. 2.6: Measured background noise (dash-dotted line) in the laboratory. Additionally, the auditory threshold after ISO 389-7 is shown (upper left figure, dotted
line). Background noise with emitted sound from the vibration-floor running at
16 Hz (upper right), 63 Hz (lower left) and 200 Hz (lower right) with an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB (a = 0.1 m/s2 ), which is above the perception
threshold of vertical whole-body vibration, is diagrammed, as well. There are some
peak in the spectra, when the shaker is running with 63 and 125 Hz, which are
above the background noise.
y-axis are plotted as a function of frequency. In addition to the background

vibrations the standard perception threshold for vertical vibrations specified
in ISO 2631-2 is shown. The vibration levels are always minimum 10 dB
below the perception threshold, except for 4 Hz, therefore no influence on
psychophysical measurements are expected. The background vibrations in
the horizontal plane are less than the plotted vertical background vibrations
and have no influence on the following measurements, too.
The ambient sound pressure level, when the shaker is off, is shown in Fig. 2.6.
The sound pressure is measured in at the level of the head of a subject.
The plotted background spectrum (dash-dotted line, upper left figure) has
some ranges where the sound pressure level (SPL) is above the standard
audible threshold (dotted line) which is specified in ISO 389-7, as well. This
53
background noise is particularly audible above 100 Hz and has a level of

L = 33 dB(A). For comparison the sound pressure levels, when the shaker
produces vibrations with three different frequencies (16, 63 and 125 Hz),
is plotted in Fig. 2.6, as well. The emitted sound pressure is measured
at the same position as the background noise. The sound emitted by the
vibration-floor does not differ from the background noise of the laboratory
during the production of a sinusoidal vibration with f = 16 Hz with a
minimal acceleration a = 0.1 m/s2 (LV ib = 100 dB)1 (upper right figure).
Furthermore, there are no differences between the background noise and
the emitted sound for vibrations up to a frequency of f = 50 Hz which
is not shown in Fig. 2.6. However, the emitted sound and the background
sound is probably not audible for the subjects. Therefore, no influence of the
emitted sound on experiments of the perception of whole-body vibrations up
to an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB is expected. If the acceleration
level increases the emitted sound of the vibration-floor could increase, as
well. Therefore, an influence of the emitted sound (especially for frequency
components above 100 Hz) on experiments cannot be predicted. For higher
frequencies some more peaks are observable above the background curve for
sinusoidal vibrations with an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB, especially
for higher vibration frequencies (63, 125 and 200 Hz) at 200 and 400 Hz.
Additionally, for the reproduction of vibrations with 63 Hz, the vibrationfloor emits narrow band sound around 63 Hz with a sound pressure of about
40 dB. The fact that the vibration-floor emits sound which is maybe audible,
especially for 63 Hz, could have a disturbing influence on measurements
of the perception threshold even at low acceleration levels. Therefore, in
Chapter 3.4 the influence of the emitted sound from the vibration-floor
on the perception threshold will be investigated. If the acceleration level
increases the sound pressure of the disturbing noise will be increased, as
well.
2.1.3
Vibration performance
The following figures show in detail the vibration performance of the system
in three parts. First, the influence of the linear guidance on the horizontal
vibrations (x/y-axis) is shown in Fig. 2.7. Then the transfer function of
the system is given (Fig. 2.8). And finally, the vibration levels on the seat
and the shaker-table measured at different positions are compared for the
description of the vibration distribution on the vibration-floor (Fig. 2.9).
1 An acceleration level of L
V ib = 100 dB is slightly above the perception threshold of
vertical whole-body vibrations.
54
xaxis
yaxis
zaxis
xaxis
yaxis 0.1
zaxis
90
80
0.01
70
60
Acceleration [m/s2]
100
Fig. 2.7: Vibrations

measured on position
5 (center of the table)
in three directions during a vertical broadband excitation.
0.001
10
20
40
Frequency [Hz]
80
160
Vibrations in different directions The vibration-floor is linear conducted

with rollers to move only in the vertical-direction. Fig. 2.7 shows the vibration levels measured with a triaxial accelerometer at the center of the table
surface (position 5). The excitation signal is a pink noise. Comparison of
the vibration levels for the three dimensions reveals that the acceleration
levels of the vibrations in the vertical (z-) direction are about 15 dB higher
than the vibrations in the horizontal (x- and y-axes) plane. The difference in
the vibration levels are also 15 dB at other points of the shaker-table which
is not presented in Fig. 2.7. The human body is more sensitive to vertical vibrations than to x/y- vibrations at low magnitudes (especially at and
around the perception thresholds) which is reported frequently in the literature (e.g., Griffin, 1990; Bellmann, 1999). These findings are also specified
in existing standards (e.g., ISO 2631-2, 1989; VDI 2057-2, 1987). Therefore
an influence of the horizontal vibrations on the vertical vibrations, especially
for the perception threshold, are not expected. Moreover, there is probably no influence of the horizontal vibrations on experiments with vertical
vibrations which are above the perception threshold.
Transfer function The transfer function is measured with a pink noise
(2 < f < 1000 Hz) in vertical direction as input vibration signal at the
position 5 (Fig. 2.8). The transfer function takes into account the coherence function. That is the reason why the transfer function is just printed
when the input and output signals are highly correlated (error e 0.15,
specified in Wilken & Wempen, 1986). The vibration-floor shows a typical acceleration-frequency-characteristics of an electro-dynamic system, for
comparison see Fig. 1.3 in Chapter 1.1.1. The spring and coil resonance
55
25
20
Magnitude [dB]
15
electromechanical resonance
(caused by the coil and the springs)
10
5
moving element resonances
(caused by the shakertable)
0
5
10
15
20
25
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
Frequency [Hz]
100
160
Fig. 2.8:
Transfer function of the
vibration-floor
in
vertical
direction
measured at position
5 (center of table)
with pink noise as
input signal.
The
transfer function is
just printed where
the input and output
signals are highly
correlated (Wilken &
Wempen, 1986).
is at about fR = 11 Hz (first maximum) and is called electro-mechanical

resonance because of the influence of mechanical and electronic factors
(Fig. 1.3). The first moving element resonance2 is at about fR1 = 80 Hz and
is called the mechanical resonance because just the mass of the shaker-table
and the mass of the subject sets this resonance of 1-dimensional damped
self-oscillating mass-spring-system. At fR1 = 80 Hz the shaker-table has
the first grid resonance with a maximum displacement at the edge of the
table and a minimum in the center of the table, as well (Fig. 2.9). Above the
first mechanical resonance (moving element resonance) the transfer function
shows a typical peak valley structure. The next maximum at 160 Hz is the
first harmonic of the moving element resonance (fRn = n fR1 [Hz], with
n = 2, 3, 4, ...).
Vibrations at Different Positions A comparison of the measured vertical vibrations at different positions3 are drawn for a broadband excitation in
Fig. 2.9 (input signal is a pink noise again). There are no significant differences in the spectra up to a frequency of 50 Hz. Above 50 Hz the measured
curves deviate from each other and from the first shaker-table resonance
where the center of the shaker-table does not move in contrast with the
edge of the table. This can be observed especially at about fR1 = 80 Hz.
It is necessary to know which acceleration level is produced or reproduced at
2 The input and output signals are not correlated at f
R1 = 80 Hz. That is why the
transfer function is not plotted around fR1 = 80 Hz.
3 From the front to the back - position 2, 5 and 8 -, from the right to the left - 4, 5,
6 - and the two diagonals
56
100
90
80
70
front back
left right
front right back left
front left back right
60
100
90
80
70
60
10
20
40
80
160 5
10
20
40
80
160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 2.9: Comparison of the vertical spectra measured at different positions: 2,
5 and 8 - from the front to the back of the shaker-table (upper right), 4, 5, 6 from the right to the left (upper left) and the two diagonals (lower left and right).
The solid curve marks the measured spectra at position 5.
different positions on the vibration-floor for experiments on the perception

of vertical whole-body vibrations. Therefore a set of tests are made with
sinusoidal excitation with frequencies which are varied in 1/3rd octave steps
from 5 to 200 Hz (comparable with measuring stimuli in Chapter 3). The
vibration levels recorded by the accelerometer fixed under the seat bottom
are taken as reference with an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB. The
respective acceleration levels [dB] on various positions of the vibration-floor
surface at 8 and 16 Hz are summarized in Fig. 2.10. For test-frequencies
of 31.5, 63, 160 and 200 Hz the figures are summarized in Fig. B.1 in
Appendix A. For frequencies of 8 and 16 Hz the acceleration levels at different positions on the shaker-table and at the seat show no considerable
differences ( 1.5 dB) to the reference (seat bottom). Especially, the acceleration levels on the seat and at the front side of the shaker table (position
2), which are the contact areas between the human body and the vibrationfloor (feet is position 2 and fundament is seat cushion), do not deviate from
each other. For higher frequencies the differences between the different positions increase slightly, especially on the shaker-table around the moving
element resonances.
In conclusion, the vibration-floor is capable of producing just vertical vibra-
2.2. Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
57
Fig. 2.10: Comparison of the acceleration levels [dB] on various positions of the
vibration floor for 8 and 16 Hz. The excitation stimulus is a sinusoidal vibration
with an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB (see position seat bottom).
tions silently. This means that there is no influence of horizontal vibrations

expected on the results of experiments with vertical vibrations. Furthermore,
the emitted sound of the vibration-floor during the production of vibrations
with frequencies up to 50 Hz with an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB
is not audible for humans, whereas the emitted sound for higher vibrations
may be audible. If the acceleration level increases for the produced vibrations, the emitted sound may be audible but with very low sound pressures.
For this reasons, it is possible to use the vibration-floor for research on perception of vertical whole-body vibration in a silent environment and in a
broadband frequency range.
2.2
Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
In Chapter 5 psychophysical measurements are conducted with interior sound

and vibrations which are recorded in real cars. The Sound & Vibration Rec 4 , called SVRS, was developed for the facsimile of inteproduction System
rior sound and seat vibrations of helicopters and aircrafts at the itap GmbH
in cooperation with the University of Oldenburg (Acoustics). This system is
modified for the realistic reproduction of interior sound, seat- and steeringwheel vibrations in idle running cars during this study. Several studies of
subjective comfort or quality assessments in cars or aircrafts confirm that the
combination of sound and vibrations, which are presented simultaneously,
are important (e.g., Quehl, 2000). This system is psychophysically optimized
for a realistic reproduction of recorded interior noise (booming noise), as
4
c by the institute of technical and applied physics; itap GmbH Institut f
ur technische und angewandte Physik GmbH
58
c
Fig. 2.11: Schematic view of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
(SVRS) developed at the itap GmbH in cooperation with the University of Oldenburg. The SVRS is used in Chapter 5 to reproduce recorded seat vibrations.
well as seat and steering-wheel vibrations simultaneously, e.g., from vehicles

or aircrafts (Remmers & Bellmann, 2000).
The simulator consists primarily of three components: A so-called vibrationpad is used for the production and reproduction of the seat vibrations
(whole-body vibrations). The steering-wheel vibrations are produced by a
separate vibrating system. Sound can be alternatively reproduced by headphones or special tuned loudspeaker orders, depending on the specification
of the recorded sound signals. The vibration-pad consists of a rigid base
plate. Electro-dynamic exciters (called Paraseats from Emphaser Inc. with
a force of F = 35 Nef f ) with different resonance frequencies are fixed separately for all three directions on the base plate. Therefore different springs
and incremental masses are used to modify the shaker so that each shaker
has a different resonance frequency (resonance frequency ranges from 15
to 55 Hz). The seat is removable. The whole system is mounted on a
c from PUR Service GmbH & Co. KG) with rePU-foam (Diepoelast 2.2
silient and damping properties in all three directions (x/y/z-axes) (Tab. B.1
in Appendix B). Therefore the vibration-pad could be described as a 3dimensional damped self-oscillating mass-spring system. The resonance frequencies of the vibration-pad are at about fR 8 Hz for nearly all three
directions. The produced vibrations are transmitted from a real car seat
and the base plate to the subjects by the feet, backside and fundamental,
59
c
Fig. 2.12: Photo of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
. In this case
the acoustics is reproduced by headphones and a subwoofer.
like in Chapter 5. Additionally, a special mass-spring system with a real

steering-wheel allows to produce steering-wheel vibrations in all three directions separately from the vibration-pad. The vibration-pad and the movable
steering-wheel system are capable of producing and reproducing vibrations in
the frequency range from about 10 to 500 Hz with a maximum acceleration
of aef f = 2 m/s2 for noise signals and nearly aef f = 2 m/s2 for sinusoidal
signals. The acoustic reproduction, which is often called booming noise in
the car industry, is possible by headphones in connection with a subwoofer
for the low frequency noise or with different loudspeakers and loudspeaker
c 5.1, Remmers & Bellmann). A schematic
orders (e.g., dolby surround
view of the system and some pictures of the system are diagrammed in
Fig. 2.11, 2.12 and 2.13.
The frequency range of the steering-wheel system and the vibration-pad is
linearized with integrated parametric equalizer, which are in the pre-amplifier
(Sony TA-E 2000 ESD Digital Processing Control Amplifier,) in a frequency
range from 10 to 100 Hz. The control diagram of the system, as well as
the optimization and validation procedure of the SVRS with two professional subjective-testers with long term experience from the car industry
are briefly summarized (Fig. B.2 in Appendix B). Psychophysical pre-tests
60
c
Fig. 2.13: A second photo of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
.
c
In this case the acoustics is reproduced by flexural wave loudspeaker in NXT
technology and a subwoofer.
Fig. 2.14:
Flexural wave
c
loudspeaker in NXT
technology for a psychoacoustically motivated interior sound
reproduction in cars.
61
result that the application of flexural wave loudspeaker (near-field loudc technology for the reproduction of the interior car sound
speaker) in NXT
deals with a realistic reproduction of the interior sound. Those loudspeakers which produce flexural waves inside the panel consist of a panel with a
small electro-dynamic shaker on a fixed position. This loudspeaker radiates
sound to both sides of the panel (dipole). The application of flexural wave
loudspeaker needs multi-channel recordings of the sound particle velocity
components of the interior sound field in comparison to a reproduction of
recordings of an artificial head with headphones. The frequency range of
these loudspeakers depends on the size, the centering device of the panels
and the excitation force of the mini exciter. It is possible to produce sound
from 40 Hz to 12 kHz with such a loudspeaker which is shown in Fig. 2.14
in detail.
c has the advantage that,
This Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
e.g., a comparison of different types of cars or situations with the same
measurement set-up in the laboratory is possible. Additionally, each single parameter (sound, seat and steering-wheel vibrations) could be varied
separately. This feature is useful for different studies in practice, e.g., prototyping or sound and vibration design in the car or aircraft industry. With
similar systems, investigations were conducted in different sections, like development of a comfort-index for interior sound and vibration in aircrafts
and helicopters (e.g., Quehl, 2000). The vibro-acoustic specifications of
the simulator are summarized in Tab. B.2 in Appendix A and in Remmers
& Bellmann (2000).
Chapter 3
Basic experiments on the
perception of vertical wholebody vibrations on a rigid seat
The motivation for the basic experiments in this chapter is that human beings encounter vibrations everywhere: in buildings, vehicles, aircrafts, etc.,
in their daily activities. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge on
many aspects concerning the human response to vibrations (introduction).
There are some standards usually for the perception of whole-body vibration
and for the health risks in buildings (e.g., ISO 2631-2 (1989); DIN 40512 (1999); VDI 2057-2 (1987), Chapter 1.1.3). These standards address,
for example, perception thresholds of whole-body vibrations in different directions or equivalent-comfort contours. Existing data in literature (e.g.,
Meister, 1937; Griffin, 1990; Meloni, 1991) for the perception thresholds of
sinusoidal whole-body vibrations show considerable differences to the existing standards. The data from different laboratories (some are summarized
in Fig.3.3) exhibit deviations also, probably due to differences of the used
psychophysical measuring method and other measuring parameters. Additionally, incomplete details exist in the literature for basic experiments for
the description of human perception of whole-body vibration, for example,
Just Noticeable Differences (JND) in frequency and in level.
The following basic experiments on the perception of sinusoidal vertical
whole-body vibration for seated subjects are conducted with new and reliable psychoacoustic measuring methods in detail:
3.1. Measuring set-up and stimuli
63
1) Psychometric function
2) Perception thresholds in vertical direction (z-axis)
3) Just Noticeable Differences (JND) in level and in frequency
4) Equal-Vibration Level Contours (EVLC, comparable with equal-loudness
level contours in psychoacoustics)
3.1
Measuring set-up and stimuli
Whole-body vibrations are produced by using the so-called vibration-floor

for the basic experiments in this chapter. This system is optimized for the
production and reproduction of vertical (z-axis) vibrations according to psychophysical aspects (Chapter 2.1). For example, just low sound pressure is
emitted, which is not audible for low frequencies up to 50 Hz and around
the auditory threshold for higher frequencies, during the production of vibrations (Fig. 2.6). A rigid wooden chair is fixed to the surface with the central
of gravity directly above the center point of the vibration-floor. The chair
has a small backrest but no armrests (Fig.2.2). A masking audible noise
with a level of L = 69 dB(A) is used which is presented via headphones
(HDA 200 from Sennheiser) to the subjects. Further information about the
vibration-floor can be found in Chapter 2.1.
Sinusoidal vibration signals are used varying in duration from 1 to 4 s which
are separated by a break of 500 ms in the following experiments. Initial
and end ramps (Hanning time-windows) with a duration of 10% of the
stimulus duration are used for a soft transposition. The test frequencies
vary in 1/3rd octave steps from 5 to 200 Hz. All stimuli are produced
by using an AFC-package1 for Matlab on an IBM compatible computer.
The AFC-package controls the used measuring method, as well. With a
modification of the control and configuration files (user-, set- and config-file)
different up-down procedures as well as interval numbers and other options
like adaptive and interleaved can be realized. For the following experiments,
I modified the control and configuration files of the AFC-package. The
vibrating system is located in a 3 4.5 6 m3 room with sound absorbing
materials placed on the walls to obtain a nearly silent measuring environment
(background noise: L = 33 dB(A), Chapter 2.1). The measurement set-up
is unchanged for the following experiments in this chapter and is shown
in Fig. 3.1. All experiments are repeated for each test subject at least
three times on three different days. Results are represented as the overall
averaged rms values (mean values, Eq. 1.7) with inter- and intraindividual
1 The
c
AFC-package was developed at the University of Oldenburg, Stephan
Ewert
64
Chapter 3. Experiments on the perception of vibrations
Fig. 3.1: Measurement set-up for the basic experiments on the perception of
vertical whole-body vibrations (lower figure). Additionally, the control diagram
of the measurement set-up is shown (upper figure). The measurement set-up is
unchanged for the following experiments, except for the measuring methods which
run on the PC.
standard deviations. The data are usually indicated as acceleration level

LV ib [dB] and as acceleration a [m/s2 ] thus an acceleration of a = 10 m/s2
corresponds to an acceleration level of LV ib = 140 dB. In the following plots
the acceleration level LV ib is usually located on the left and the acceleration
a on the right scale of the y-axis as a function of frequency. The measuring
position at the bottom of the rigid chair is used as reference (Chapter 2.1).
3.2
Subjects
All subjects are healthy (aged between 23 and 33 years with a mean of
28 years) and most of them are students of the University of Oldenburg.
The number of subjects varies from 8 to 17 for the different experiments.
The specific numbers of the participants in these experiments are given in
the following sections where the experiments are presented. Anthropometric
3.2. Subjects
65
(endogenous and exogenous) data are recorded from each subject like bodysize and weight. Additionally, the Body Mass Index BMI and the Rohrer
Index RI are calculated using Eq. 3.1 and Eq. 3.2 (adapted from Garrow
& Webster, 1985). All averaged anthropometric data (indicated as mean
with interindividual standard deviation and median value) of the subjects
are summarized in Tab. 3.1.
BMI =
h Kg i
Weight [Kg]
=
(Body-size [m])2
m2
(3.1)
RI =
h Kg i
Weight [Kg]
=
3
(Body-size [m])
m3
(3.2)
All experiments refer to seated subjects. The posture of the subjects is

normal and preferably comfortable on the seat: feet on the rigid shaker-table
of the vibration-floor, sitting with an upstanding upper part of the body,
leaning with the backside against the backrest. During the measurements
the posture is not monitored by cameras or similar devices but the subjects
have been instructed to sit in the same way during the whole experiment
and it is assumed that they do.
Tab. 3.1: Anthropometric and other personal (exogenous and endogenous) data
of the subjects for the basic experiments in this chapter.
Parameter
Mean
Medium
age [a]
28.2 2.4
29
body-size [m]
1.77 0.1
1.80
weight [Kg]
71.9 12.3
72
BMI [Kg/m2 ]
22.9 2.7
22.4
RI [Kg/m3 ]
13.0 1.6
12.9
66
3.3
Experiment 1: Psychometric function
Before the perception threshold for vertical whole-body vibrations is measured in a broadband frequency range (Chapter 3.5) the psychometric function for a vertical (sinusoidal) excitation of 5 Hz is determined. The psychometric function describes the response behavior of an individual (subject)
or group of individuals (mean of subjects) depending on the force of a
presented stimulus in a psychophysical experiment (here implemented by
the correct response-probability P (L) subjected to the stimulus acceleration level, Chapter 1.2.2). With this measurement the dependence of the
detected vibration on the acceleration level should be investigated.
The psychometric function is measured for f = 5 Hz for 14 subjects (2
female and 12 male). The measuring method is a constant stimulus method
with three given intervals for each trial (Chapter 1.2.2). Two of the three
intervals include no signal; one interval applies a stimulus with varying level
and a fixed test-frequency of f = 5 Hz. The task of the subjects is to
mark that interval, in which they felt a vibration. The presented levels LV ib
vary from 75 to 90 dB (obviously below and above the expected perception
threshold2 ) in 1.5 dB steps. A step-size of 1.5 dB is used because a study
of Morioka & Griffin (2000) reports that the just noticeable difference in
level for 5 Hz is nearly about 1 to 1.5 dB. Therefore all presented stimuli
above the individual threshold are distinguishable for each subject. The
stimulus duration of the signals are 2 s because there is an influence of the
stimulus duration on the perception of vibration for low frequencies up to
an excitation of 2 s (Chapter 3.4.1).
The probability P (L) results from a relative occurrence of true (correct)
responses at a presented stimulus level L. Therefore, each level LV ib is
presented N = 24 times. The order of the presented levels and the order of null- and test-signal are randomized to prohibit order effects. Many
time-consuming measurements at many different levels are necessary to produce the whole shape of the psychometric function, as mentioned before in
Chapter 1.2.1. A second possibility is to measure some points on the psychometric function and to find a conformance (fit) of the whole shape by
using a model-function or cost-function. In this study a maximum likelihood
is used to get the whole shape of the psychometric function. For the used
measurement design the probability P (L) to detect by chance the right interval is 1/3 = 33% because the number of intervals A is three, whereas just
one interval comprises a stimulus. The modified logistical model-function,
which is described in Eq. 1.22, is used for the maximum likelihood fit. The
2 The
level range is chosen from data in the literature and from earlier pre-experiments.
3.3. Exp. 1: Psychometric Function
100
67
Mean
Sub.1
Sub.2
Sub.3
Sub.4
Sub.5
Sub.6
Sub.7
Sub.8
Probability P(L) of correct response
80
60
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
100
Sub.9
Sub.10
Sub.11
Sub.12
Sub.13
Sub.14
80
60
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
75
78
81
84
87
90
75
78
81
84
87
90
75
78
81
84
87
90

Fig. 3.2: Measured individual psychometric functions for 14 subjects, as well as
the overall averaged data of all subjects presented as mean (upper left figure).
Additionally, the minimal error estimation of the measured data are shown as
errorbars. For comparison, the calculated curves from a maximum likelihood fit
are plotted, as well.
fitted psychometric function (Fig. 3.2) can be characterized or be described

with the level L50 and the slope of the function at this point (Chapter 1.2.1).
The L50 point has the highest slope of the fitted curve and is the central
68
point of the logistical function. The logistical function, which is used in this
section, is modified (Eq. 1.22) so that the function starts at the probability
to detect by chance the correct response (P(L)=33%) and increases to a
probability of P(L)=100% which means that all stimuli with the fixed level
are correctly detected. Therefore the L50 is not the point with P(L)=50%
correct response-probability but nearly with P (L) = 66%3 in this case.
The measured single data for the 14 subjects are plotted, as well as the fitted curves in Fig.3.2. Additionally, the minimal error estimations (Eq. 1.23)
for the measured data are shown as errorbars, because the real error is not
known. These errors are just the minimal error estimations (Chapter 1.2.1).
The fitted curve begins at about P (L) = 33% right detected stimuli probability and increases rapidly to a probability of P (L) = 100% in less than
10 dB. There are considerable differences between the 14 subjects in the
shape of the measured data and the fitted psychometric functions. The results (mean values inclusive standard deviations) of some subjects like sub.
11, 13 and 14 are very interesting because the correct response-probability
P(L) for acceleration levels between 76.5 to 79.5 dB is systematically below the probability to detect by chance the correct response (P(L)=33%)
sometimes. The reason for these findings is not clear but no further analysis
about these findings are made. The individual position of L50 varies from
79.7 to 85 dB with a slope of 8 to 28%/dB (Fig. 3.2). In the upper left
figure the fitted psychometric function labeled as mean is calculated from
the averaged single results of all subjects. This curve indicates a mean psychometric function of the participants in this experiment (L50 = 82.9 dB,
slope = 0.11%/dB).
With the knowledge of the individual and average fitted psychometric functions the differences between different positions on the curve could be calculated because some psychophysical measuring methods for the determination
of the threshold do not measure the 50% point of the psychometric function
(Chapter 1.2.2). For example, it is possible to compare the results of this
measurement and the results of the perception threshold measurements for
5 Hz with an adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method which is
used in Chapter 3.4. However, there are no literature data for the psychometric function of vibration signals hence the findings of this experiment
cannot be compared to other data.
3 The mean probability between the 100% (all presented stimuli are detected) and the
probability to detect by chance (33%) the right response.
3.4. Parameters which influence the perception thresholds
3.4
69
Parameters which influence the

perception threshold
In the last section the psychometric functions for 5 Hz are measured. These
measurements are very time consuming. Therefore a common procedure in
the literature is to measure just a fixed position on the psychometric function
for many different test frequencies with different psychophysical measuring
methods. Some of the literature data for the perception thresholds for
seated subjects in the frequency range from 5 to 80 Hz are summarized in
Fig. 3.3, as well as the standardized perception threshold specified in ISO
2631-2 (1989) and VDI 2057-2 (1987). The literature data show considerable differences to existing standards. Moreover, the data from different
laboratories deviate from each other too, probably due to differences in
the methods of acquiring the data, stimulus duration and other measuring
parameters (like background noise during the measurements and stimulus
duration). For example, in the literature the stimulus duration for experiments on the perception of vibration at low frequencies varies from 1 up
to 15 s (some are summarized in Fig. 3.3, too) and sometimes longer but
there are no results for systematic investigations about the influence of the
duration on the perception threshold for low frequencies (e.g., 5 Hz). If the
stimulus duration is too long the results may be biased since the attention
and concentration of the subjects decreases with increasing overall measurement time. However, if the stimulus duration is shorter than the integration
time of the mechano receptor or CNS the perception threshold is probably
biased, as well. Additionally, the different psychophysical measuring methods used might have an influence on the data. However, before measuring
the perception threshold in a broadband frequency range (Chapter 3.5) two
main questions should be answered in this section:
Which parameter influences the perception threshold ?
Which psychophysical measuring method should be used ?
Therefore two experiments are conducted to investigate the parameter (i)
stimuli duration and (ii) additional audible sound on the perception thresholds of vertical whole-body vibrations. Moreover, the results of the stimuli
duration experiment are compared to the data of the measured (fitted)
psychometric functions (Chapter 3.3) to verify if the used psychophysical
measurement delivers repeatable and constant results to the prior findings.
70
100
0.1
0.031
90
85
80
ISO 26312 89
Reiher & Mesiter 31
Miwa 69
McKay 71
Benson & Dilnot 81
Parsons & Griffin 88
75
10
20
40
80
0.01
Acceleration [m/s2]
95
160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.3: Perception thresholds for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibrations are
shown from different studies - Parsons and Griffin, 1988; Benson & Dilnot, 1981;
McKay, 1971; Miwa, 1969 and Reiher & Meister, 1931 (some data are based on
an illustration in Griffin, 1991) - in comparison to existing standard data (defined
in ISO 2631-2 and VDI 2057-2). The literature data are measured particularly
with different measuring methods.
3.4.1
Stimulus duration
It is well known that the stimulus duration influences the perception curves
which decrease slightly with increasing vibration exposure up to 1 s and differ
just a bit with further increase in duration (ISO 2631-1, 1997; VDI 2057-2,
1987). These results are verified in the literature for test frequencies of f =
16 Hz (Parsons & Griffin, 1988). But there is no validation for the duration
dependence on the threshold for low frequencies. However, a duration of 1 s
corresponds to just 5 sinusoidal waveforms for a test frequency of 5 Hz. The
number of waveforms decreases even more if ramps (e.g., Hanning-window)
for a soft closure and break are used. The question is: How long is the
minimal stimulus duration for lower frequencies to minimize the influence of
the duration on the perception thresholds and, therefore, delivers constant
and repeatable results ?
For this reason, the perception thresholds are measured with different stimulus durations at 5, 12.5 and 16 Hz. An adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down
71
measuring method (Levitt, 1971, Chapter 1.2.2) is used with sinusoidal vibration signals of 5 Hz with 1, 2 and 4 s stimulus duration and of 12.5
and 16 Hz with 1 and 2 s for the test-stimulus. This method of taking
measurements is used because literature data in psychoacoustics for measuring audible thresholds report that this method produces repeatable results. Furthermore, an adaptive AFC measuring method is very fast because
just one position on the psychometric function is measured (Chapter 1.2.2).
This method used determines the 70.7% point of the psychometric function. The 70.7% criterion is often used in psychoacoustics for measuring
the auditory threshold and differs a bit from the common definition of the
absolute threshold which is usually the 50% point of the psychometric function. Therefore the results should be a bit higher than the expected results
with the 50% criterion. But with the knowledge of the psychometric function (Chapter 3.3) the differences between the 50% and 70.7% criterion
can be determined. Adaptive means that the initial step-size of 8 dB is
halved after each upper reversal to a final step-size of 1 dB. The individual
threshold is the median of the values taken from the last four reversals with
the final step-size of 1 dB. Eight subjects (3 female and 5 male) take part
in this experiment with three repetitions. Three intervals are presented for
the subjects in this experiment, whereas two intervals contain no signals
(reference stimuli) and the third interval implies the test-stimuli. The task
for the subjects is to mark that interval in which they felt a vibration. The
three intervals are marked with an optical cue for the discrimination and the
order of the test and the reference stimuli are randomized to prohibit order
effects. The initial acceleration level of the test-stimulus is LV ib = 110 dB,
a = 0.316 m/s2 .
92
90
88
86
84
1s
2s
4s
82
12.5
Frequency [Hz]
16
Fig. 3.4: Averaged mean

values inclusive interindividual standard deviations
and median values for the
perception thresholds of
eight subjects at frequencies of 5, 12.5 and 16 Hz.
The stimuli durations is 1,
2 s or 4 s, respectively.
The data with an exposure of 1 and 4 s and the
results for the median values are slightly shifted for
a better illustration.
72
92
90
Mean
Sub.1
Sub.2
Sub.3
Sub.4
Sub.5
Sub.6
Sub.7
Sub.8
88
86
1s
2s
4s
84
82
92
90
88
86
84
82
92
90
88
86
84
82
5
12.5
16
12.5
16
12.5
16
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.5: Individual perception thresholds for eight different subjects at frequencies
of 5, 12.5 and 16 Hz with various stimulus durations of 1, 2 s and 4 s for vertical
sinusoidal whole-body vibration, respectively. The data with an exposure of 1 and
4 s are slightly shifted for a better illustration. Additionally, in the upper left figure
the overall mean values (mean) inclusive interindividual standard deviations of
all subjects are summarized.
For comparison, the averaged mean inclusive interindividual standard deviations and the median value of all subjects are shown in Fig. 3.4. The
results for an exposure of 1 and 4 s and the results of the median values
are slightly shifted in the frequency range for a better illustration. There
are no significant differences between the mean and the median values of
the measured perception thresholds with different stimuli durations. The
mean and median values for the single data of the individuals are not presented in Fig. 3.4 but there are no differences observed. Therefore, just the
mean values are analyzed in the following. Fig. 3.5 includes the individual
mean values (mean value of the three repetitions of each subject) inclusive
the intraindividual standard deviations and the overall mean values with the
interindividual standard deviations (upper left figure). The intraindividual
standard deviations are very small (between 0.5 and 1.3 dB), except for
subject 1. Additionally, there is a tendency for almost all subjects that the
73
perception thresholds decrease for increasing stimulus duration from 1 to

2 s, except for 16 Hz. An increasing stimulus duration from 2 to 4 s yields
no systematic different results for 5 Hz. The mean values for all subjects
reflect these findings. However, the decreasing perception thresholds for increasing exposure are not statistically significant (T-Test, p > 0.05) for the
summarized data (mean) but the changes in perception threshold between 1
and 2 s are statistically significant (T-Test, p < 0.05) for a lot of individual
data for 5 Hz and are particularly significant for 12.5 Hz. For 16 Hz the
results for 1 and 2 s are not statistically significant (T-Test, p > 0.05), neither for the averaged (mean) data nor the individual data. Due to this fact,
that there are significant differences between the data of different stimulus
durations for some subjects, a stimulus duration of 2 s is used in the following experiments for test frequencies below 16 Hz and 1 s for frequencies
from 16 Hz upwards.
Influence of the psychophysical measuring method Back to the beginning of this chapter, some points of the psychometric function are measured
with a method of constant stimuli for 5 Hz (Chapter 3.3). Furthermore the
whole shape of the averaged psychometric function is fitted with a maximum
Probability P(L) of correct answers
100
Fitted psychometric function

Measured 70.7% point of the psychometric function
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
75
77
79
81
83
85
87
89

Fig. 3.6: Comparison of the fitted (averaged) psychometric function of 8 subjects
and the measured 70.7% point of the psychometric function determined to an
adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method for f = 5 Hz.
74
likelihood fit (Fig. 3.2). Additionally, the perception threshold is measured

with an adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method for 5 Hz. The
design of the used method should deliver the measured 70.7% point of the
psychometric function. Usually, if the influence of the measuring parameters
on the results are minimized, both methods should deliver the same results
referring to the 70.7% point of the psychometric function. Therefore the
averaged results of all eight subjects, who participated in both measurements, are summarized in Fig.3.6. The interindividual standard deviation is
presented for the data measured with the adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down
measuring method, as well. The averaged results show no obvious differences referring to the 70.7% point of the psychometric function. The adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method yields constant results which
refers to the measured psychometric functions. Additionally, the adaptive
3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method delivers repeatable results which
is labeled by the low intraindividual standard deviations (Fig. 3.5). Furthermore, that method is very fast and minimizes the measuring time for
the subjects so that the experiments could be repeated quickly on different
days to minimize the influence of the daily form of the subjects. Therefore
this measuring method is used for the following experiments. Furthermore,
the expected differences between the 50% and the 70.7% criterion of the
absolute threshold is ranged at about 1.5 dB. This difference is nearly the
JNDL for a 5 Hz sinusoidal vibration which is reported from Morioka &
Griffin (2000). Such a difference must be considered if the results of this
study are compared to literature data which are based on the 50% criterion
of the absolute threshold.
3.4.2
Audible sound
The perception threshold of vertical whole-body vibrations (z-axis) is carried

out with and without any additional audible stimuli. This measurement is
made for higher frequencies to investigate the influence of sound, which is
probably emitted by the used vibration-floor, on the perception thresholds
(Chapter 2.1.2). The audible stimuli are presented by headphones to the
subjects. First, the perception thresholds are determined without a supplementary acoustic stimulus, except for the background noise in the laboratory
(L = 33 dB(A) - without noise condition) and the emitted sound of the
vibration-floor. The curves are measured for 11 seated subjects (2 female
and 9 male). The same measuring method as in Chapter 3.4.1 is used
(adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method). The test signals are
sinusoidal vibrations with frequencies of 16, 31.5, 63, 125 and 200 Hz. The
initial acceleration level is LV ib = 110 dB (a = 0.316 m/s2 ), which is well
0.1
95
0.056
90
0.031
85
0.017
80
0.01
75
0.005
16
31.5
63
125
Acceleration [m/s2]
100
75
200
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.7: Measured (individual) perception thresholds for 11 subjects. Additionally, the averaged data presented as mean (opened circles and bold solid lines)
with the interindividual standard deviation and the median values (bold dash dotted line) are shown.
detectable but just a little bit uncomfortable after ISO 2631-1 (Tab.1.2).
The stimulus duration of the test-vibrations is 1 s according to the results of
the findings in the last subsection. The initial and final step-sizes are 8 and
1 dB again. The measurement is repeated three times on three different
days for each subject.
The overall averaged data (mean values, bold solid line) of 11 subjects are
shown with the interindividual standard deviations, as well as the individual
averaged data of each subject to give an overview of the differences between
individuals (Fig. 3.7). The individual data of each subject are shifted for a
better illustration. Additionally, the averaged median values (bold dash line)
of all subjects are drawn in comparison to the mean data. The intraindividual
standard deviations ( , see Tab. 1.1), which are not presented in this figure,
are below 2 dB for all subjects. This result indicates a high repeatability for
each subject. The interindividual standard deviations are about 2.5 dB and
increase above 63 Hz with rising test frequency. Most of the participating
subjects have nearly the same perception threshold. But the results of
three subjects show considerable differences to the averaged data, especially
for 125 and 200 Hz. Two of them have nearly 10 dB higher perception
thresholds and one subject shows nearly 5 dB lower results. There are no
76
significant differences between the averaged mean and median data for all
subjects observable (Fig. 3.7).
The decreasing shape of the perception threshold, which is shown in Fig. 3.7,
especially for 63 Hz is not explicable with sensorial properties of the human
body because the sensitivity of the mechano receptors is constant or decreases for increasing frequencies (Chapter 1.2.3). A possible reason for this
shape is maybe due to the fact that the subjects get an additional audible
cue4 for higher frequencies by the emitted sound of the vibration-floor. It is
just briefly noted that low frequency sound is particularly not distinguishable
from the perception of a vibration stimulus if the magnitude is around the
perception or auditory threshold. It is shown in Chapter 2.1.2 that the emitted sound of the vibration-floor features some peaks above the background
noise, especially for 63 Hz.
Sound Pressure Level [dB]
15
10 16 Hz
63 Hz
5
15
10 125 Hz
200 Hz
5
0
25
50
100
200 25
50
Frequency [Hz]
100
200
Fig. 3.8: Difference spectra between the emitted sound of the vibration-floor
(running with 16, 63, 125 and 200 Hz) and the background noise in the laboratory.
For a better illustration the difference spectra between the emitted sound
from the vibration-floor, which is running with 16, 63, 125 and 200 Hz,
and the background noise in the laboratory are presented in Fig. 3.8. The
sound pressure of the audible signals is measured in height of the ear of
a sitting subject. The emitted sound from the vibration-floor running at
63, 125 and 200 Hz shows components around 200 Hz and around 63 Hz
4 Default
task: In which interval do you felt a vibration/stimulus ?
77
which are probably additional audible cues for the participating subjects.
Therefore the measurement of the perception threshold is repeated with an
audible stimulus (with noise condition), which should mask the emitted
sound of the used simulator. The audible (masking) stimulus is presented
by headphones (HDA 200 from Sennheiser) to the subjects. The additional
stimulus is a pink noise (50 Hz < f < 10 kHz) with a sound pressure level
of 69 dB(A). The different literature studies (Meloni, 1991; Baumann et al.,
2001a) revealed that there are no influences up to this level on the perception
thresholds of vertical whole-body vibrations. Above this level an influence
of the sound on the perception of vibration is possible (Meloni, 1991) but
this is not stringent5 . Closed headphones are used to prohibit influences
of the sound field (especially for low frequencies) on the performance of
the vibrating system and to damp the sound pressure of the background
and emitted noise for higher frequencies, as well. The mean values and
interindividual standard deviations of the 11 subjects are presented for the
perception thresholds without (circles) and with an audible masking noise
(squares) in a frequency range from 16 Hz to 200 Hz in Fig. 3.9. The data
without masking noise are slightly shifted in frequency range for a better
illustration.
A statistical test (T-Test, p < 0.05) delivers no significant differences between the data with and without audible masking noise, except for f =
63 Hz. This result points out that the subjects are probably influenced by
the emitted sound of the vibrating system at f = 63 Hz when measurements
were taken but not for the other frequencies. - This finding indicates that the
emitted sound from the vibration-floor running with 63 Hz is just noticeable
for the subjects, especially the components around 63 and 200 Hz (Fig. 3.8).
- The intraindividual standard deviation is below 1.0 dB and increases slightly
up to about 1.5 dB for higher frequencies for both measurements and indicates a good repeatability of the results by the subjects. However, the
interindividual differences increase with rising frequency. Individual data for
the condition with noise of some subjects are depicted in Fig 3.10. Some
subjects feature an increasing (as expected from the physiological point of
view) a decreasing or an unvarying curve for increasing frequencies. The decreasing and the unvarying data for higher frequencies cannot be explained
by an additional audible cue for some subjects. A possible reason to explain
the increasing sensitivity of some subjects is the influence of body-borne
sound (vibrations which are prefaced in the human body) which provide
an additional cue for the detection of the vibration signals while measuring. This hypothesis is confirmed with proposition of those subjects who
reported after the experiment that they have heard stimuli with high si5 Influence
depends on the masking sound and the vibration signal.
78
100
0.1
95
0.056
90
0.031
85
0.017
80
0.01
Acceleration [m/s2]
with audible masking noise

without audible masking noise
75
16
31.5
63
125
200
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.9: Measured perception thresholds for the condition without noise (triangle) and with an audible (masking) noise with noise (circles) for 11 subjects.
The data without masking noise are slightly shifted in frequency range for a better
overview.
nusoidal frequencies sometimes without an additional acoustic stimulus as

well as with an audible masking noise. An audible cue via air conduction can
be excluded because the subjects carried closed headphones with a damping
effect of the sound for frequencies above 50 Hz. Additionally, a measurement of the sound pressure at the ear of the subject who carried headphones,
shows that the levels are below the standard audible threshold specified in
ISO 389-7. The effect, that an audible stimulus is recognized without an
audible sound via air conduction, is described in the literature as bone conduction. That means that the inner ear is stimulated by body-borne sound.
Griffin (1990) reports that subjects were able to detect a 63 Hz vibration of
a rigid surface on which they were sitting at approximately one-tenth of the
normal vibration magnitude required for feeling by using bone conduction.
In medical tests (Rinne and Weber tests) both the bone and air conduction
of patients are determined to characterize the hearing of a patient.
It is difficult to verify whether there is an effect of body-borne sound and
bone conduction on the perception threshold for higher frequencies (above
63 Hz) since the bone conduction is influenced by many factors. The transmission of vibration to the body depends especially on the posture and there
are large differences observed between subjects which are reported frequently
(Griffin, 1975; Cooper, 1986; Messenger, 1987; Messenger & Griffin, 1989).
0.1
95
0.056
90
0.031
85
0.017
80
0.01
Acceleration [m/s2]
100
79
75
16
31.5
63
125
200
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.10: Individual perception thresholds (mean values and intraindividual standard deviations) of some subjects, who are very different, are presented as in
Fig. 3.9 for the condition with noise .
Most of the authors measured the seat-to-head transmissibility of the human body from nearly 0 to 25 Hz, but there are no results found for higher
frequencies in the literature. Additionally, the transmission was usually measured for acceleration of 1 m/s2 and more and for broadband shock signals.
For these reasons, sinusoidal vibration signals are prefaced by the seat surface
and the shaker-table of the vibration-floor into the human body (buttocks
and feet) with a constant acceleration level6 of LV ib = 95 dB for frequencies, which varies in 1/3rd octave steps from 5 to 100 Hz, to measure the
seat-to-head transmissibility. The resultant vibrations are picked up at the
head (mastoid and brow) and at the contact area between the seat and
the body of the subjects with an acceleration cushion (position cushion)
in Fig. 2.4). Two subjects participated with a normal posture like in the
other experiments (Chapter 3.2). It turns out, that the vertical transmitted vibration at the seat surface (position cushion are transformed into
vibrations in all three axes on the head (mastoid) during the measurement.
That is why the magnitude of the seat-to-head transmissibility is calculated
with the vibration total values (Eq. 1.9, with kx = ky = kz = 1 and with
spectrally unweighted accelerations in x/y/z-direction, related to the power
transfer function, Fig.C.1).
6 This
level is nearby the perception threshold in this frequency range.
80
These vertical seat-to-head transmissibilities show a decreasing magnitude

with increasing frequency from 5 up to 100 Hz. It was not possible to
measure the vibrations at the head above 100 Hz because the sensitivity of
the used and usually all prevalent accelerometers are not high enough to
measure vibrations between 50 or 60 dB. Perhaps laser-scanning vibrometer
techniques are better suited for such measurements; but then the head
must be fixed. Additionally, the effects of coupling between the exciter
and the head are unknown. Furthermore, it is not really clear what kind
of influence the acceleration level on the seat-to-head transmissibility has
since the posture and muscle activity of the subjects probably change with
increasing level. There are some clues found in the literature that the first
maximum in the seat-to-head transmissibility (which is around 5 Hz) changes
slightly with increasing frequency. Furthermore, the human body is a highly
non-linear system which is frequently reported in the literature (e.g., Griffin,
1990; Mansfield & Griffin, 1998). That is why this measurement cannot
easily be compared to results which are measured in a higher acceleration
level range. But the tendencies between the results found in the literature
and the results from this study are nearly the same. Another aspect is that
there are only few data in the literature (e.g., Queller & Khanna, 1982;
Khanna et al., 1976) found in which acceleration levels of the vibrations
at the mastoid or at the brow according to the bone conduction thresholds
are measured. These studies are conducted with frequencies above 200 Hz
and report about a decreasing bone conduction threshold with increasing
frequency. The minimum of the bone conduction threshold is in a frequency
range between 1 to 6 kHz. Additionally, large differences between individuals
are observed (Queller & Khanna, 1982).
An influence of the emitted sound from the vibration-floor on the perception
of vertical whole-body vibrations can be excluded if an additional audible
(masking) stimulus with a level of L = 69 dB(A) is presented simultaneously. But whether there is an influence of bone conduction for frequencies above 63 Hz is not really clear. Probably, not the felt accelerations
of the test frequency vibrations deliver an additional cue but probably some
harmonics or modes in the human body are excited by higher frequency
vibrations which produce a bone conduction stimulus at higher frequencies.
For a verification of this hypothesis the basic pure tone bone conduction
thresholds after the existing standard (ISO 8253-1, 1989) must be conducted
with special specified exciter on the mastoid. The prefaced vibration into
the head must be recorded with high sensitive accelerometer or with laser
scanning vibrometer technics. Additionally, the vibration on the seat must
be measured simultaneously to get potential influence on the head-to-seat
and seat-to-head transmissibility, respectively.
3.5. Exp. 2: Perception Threshold
3.5
81
Experiment 2: Perception threshold
The perception thresholds are determined for 17 subjects (5 females and

12 males) considering all or most of all results from the pre-experiments
(Chapter 3.4). The measuring method is an adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down
as in the previous experiment (Levitt, 1971, Chapter 1.2.2). The stimulus
duration changes with frequency: 2 s for test frequencies up to 12.5 Hz
and 1 s duration for higher frequencies. The test vibrations are sinusoidal
stimuli which vary in the frequency range from 5 to 16 Hz in 1/3rd octave
steps and with frequencies of 31.5, 63, 125 and 200 Hz. The measurements
with an exposure of 1 s are taken with an additional acoustic stimulus.
The initial and final step-size of the adapting procedure is 8 and 1 dB as
before. The experiment is conducted for each volunteer three times at three
different days. The resultant perception threshold of each measurement is
the median value of the four reversals with the final step-size of 1 dB again.
The individual single values for each subject are the averaged (mean) values
of the three repetitions.
100
0.1
90
0.031
85
80
75
Acceleration [m/s2]
95
0.01
10
20
40
80
160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.11: Averaged mean values and interindividual standard deviations of the
measured perception thresholds with an audible masking noise (opened circles)
and without a present noise (closed circles) for 17 subjects (5 female and 12
male). The duration varied from 1 s for frequencies above 16 Hz to 2 s for lower
frequencies. For comparison, the median values of the measured data (bold dash
lines) are plotted, as well.
82
The overall averaged perception thresholds of 17 subjects (5 female, 12

male) are presented as mean values with interindividual standard deviations
in Fig 3.11. The open symbols mark the test frequencies with an exposure
of 1 s and the closed symbols with 2 s. The test frequencies from 16 to
200 Hz are measured in presence of an audible masking noise (pink noise,
L = 69 dB(A)) to minimize the influence of the emitted sound from the
vibration-floor, like mentioned before in the pre-experiment (Chapter 3.4.2).
For comparison, the median values of these measurements are printed in
Fig. 3.11 as bold dash lines. - The results of the perception threshold for
frequencies above 16 Hz look similar to the results in Fig. 3.9 which are
just measured for 11 subjects (Chapter 3.4.2). - The perception threshold
increases with increasing frequency between 5 to 8 Hz from about 83.5
to 88 dB and it is nearly constant above 8 Hz or it decreases slightly,
especially for higher frequencies above 63 Hz. The interindividual standard
deviation increases with increasing frequency from 2.5 to 5 dB at 200 Hz
as well as the intraindividual standard deviations which rise slightly from
about 1 to 1.5 dB. There are no significant differences between the mean
and the median values found. Therefore in the following analysis just the
100
0.1
90
0.031
85
80
75
Acceleration [m/s2]
95
0.01
10
20
40
80
160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.12: Individual perception thresholds for the 17 participants are presented
in the frequency range from 5 to 200 Hz. Additionally, the mean values and the
interindividual standard deviations of all subjects are plotted like in Fig. 3.11, as
well.
83
mean values are used. However there are considerable differences between
individuals (Fig. 3.12). The single values as well as the mean values are
obliged for a better illustration. The symbols of the presented data are
similar to the presentation in Fig. 3.11. Some of the 17 subjects show a lower
sensitivity, especially for higher frequencies, than the other subjects. The
differences in the perception thresholds are about 10 dB. Additionally, two
subjects show a very low perception threshold for 200 Hz at an acceleration
level of about 80 dB.
Anthropometric Data The measured perception thresholds for vertical
whole-body vibrations (Fig. 3.12) as well as the measured psychometric
functions (Fig. 3.2) show that there are considerable differences for the
detection of vibrations between individuals. This finding is well known in the
literature and is frequently reported (e.g., Parsons & Griffin, 1988; Meloni,
1991; Griffin, 1990). It would be desirable to have objective parameters to
describe and to explain the interindividual differences for the perception of
vibrations. Therefore some collected objective anthropometric (exogenous
and endogenous) parameters are correlated with the individual perception
threshold (mean values) of the 17 participants to find relations between the
subjective perception of vibration and the objective parameters.
First of all, a correlation analysis between age, weight, body-size, BMI,
RI and gender on the one hand and the individual sensitivity (perception
threshold) of the 17 subjects on the other hand is conducted to investigate
the influence of anthropometric and other personal data on the perception
thresholds. The calculated correlation coefficients between weight, bodysize, BMI and RI, as well as between gender and body-size are significant
(p < 0.05), as expected, whereas the ones between gender and age are
not, see Tab. C.2. There are no relations or tendencies found, which are
statistically significant (p > 0.05) between the perception threshold (of each
measured frequency) and the personal data age, weight, body-size, BMI, RI
and gender, particularly except for higher frequencies at f = 31.5, 63 and
125 Hz (Tab. C.2 in appendix C). The calculated correlation coefficients are
particularly significant for those frequencies. The sensitivity of the subject
decreases with increasing weight, BMI or sometimes age. The reason for
these particularly significant correlation coefficients is unknown. However
the differences between individuals cannot be explained systematically with
the used exogenous and endogenous data. It is very difficult to decide
whether there is an influence of the gender on the perception threshold
because the number of female subjects (5), who participated, is too small.
These results are similar to several other studies in the literature which
investigated the relation between anthropometric and personal data, for
84
example: gender, weight, body-size, age and body dynamics, and data which
characterize the perception of vibration, e.g.: sensitivity (e.g., Griffin &
Whitham, 1978; Griffin, 1982; Parsons & Griffin, 1982; Corbridge & Griffin,
1986; Griefahn & Br
ode, 1997), equivalent-comfort contours (e.g., Orbone
et al, 1981) and relative discomfort experiments (e.g., Griffin & Whitham,
1978).
Seat Pressure Distribution The measured and calculated anthropometric (endogenous and exogenous) data, like age, body-size, etc., are not suitable to explain the interindividual differences of the measured perception
thresholds. That is the reason why the seat pressure distribution is measured, as well, to investigate if objective parameters which are calculated
from the seat pressure distribution can provide more information about the
differences between individuals. The seat pressure distributions are measured for 11 of the 17 subjects, who participated in the measurement of
the perception threshold. The measurements of the seat pressure distribution are conducted in cooperation with Roland Kruse (graduate student at
the University of Oldenburg). The measurement system is a GP SoftMess
System from GeBiom (M
unster, Germany). This system uses 480 resistive
sensors (24 20) which are mounted on a piece of cloth with a size of
56 56 cm2 . It is possible to read and save the data from each sensor on
an IBM compatible computer with a provided software package. GeBiom
numeralizes the repeatability of the measured results of about 5% and the
pressure range is separated into 1 mbar steps. Further informations about
the measurements and the system can be found in Kruse (2001). The seat
pressure distribution is measured at least twice for each subject. 5 objective parameter for the static seat comfort are calculated from the averaged
distributions:
mean and maximum pressure (pmean ), (pmax )
mean and maximum absolute value of the pressure gradient (| 5 p|)
size of the contact area between the seat and the body
A correlation analysis between the parameters listed above and the perception threshold (mean values at each measured frequency) of 11 subjects
points out that there are no relations between the objective parameters and
the subjective perception data. The calculated correlation coefficients are
not statistically significant (p > 0.05), except for 6.3, 12.5 Hz and the size
of contact area, see Tab. C.1 in appendix C. Thus such simple parameters
can also not explain systematically the measured interindividual differences
85
of the measured perception thresholds. To conclude, in the study of Kruse

(2001) some more relevant data for the description of the perception of
vibration - like perception thresholds at 16 and 31.5 Hz from this study and
measured perception thresholds on real car seats - are used for the correlation analysis with several more objective comfort relevant parameters.
Additionally, the seat pressure distribution measurements are described in
detail in that study. Furthermore, some more sporadic correlation coefficients between the objective parameters and data for the description of the
perception of vibration, which are particularly statistical significant, are listed
in that study. But no objective parameters were found which are able to
explain systematically the differences between individuals for the perception
of vibration, as well.
Literature Data In comparison to data from this study, curves from Parsons & Griffin (1988); Benson & Dilnot (1981); McKay (1972); Miwa (1968)
(some data are based on an illustration in Griffin, 1990), which are determined on rigid seats, are depicted in Fig. 3.13. Additionally, the standard
curve specified in the ISO 2631-2 (1989); VDI 2057-2 (1987) is shown. The
results from Reiher & Meister (1931), which are based on standing persons,
are also included in Fig. 3.13 because they are widely referenced and have
100
0.1
90
0.032
85
80
ISO 26312 89
Reiher & Meister 31
Miwa 69
McKay 71
Benson & Dilnot 81
Bellmann et al. 00
75
10
20
40
80
0.01
Acceleration [m/s2]
95
160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.13: The perception threshold for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibration is
shown in comparison to several literature data (some are based on an illustration
in Griffin, 1991) and standard data specified in ISO 2631-2.
86
influenced several existing vibration standards (Chapter 1.1.3).

A detailed comparison of the summarized data is not explicitly possible
because the data are determined using different measuring methods (e.g.,
method of adjustment, signal detection theory, etc.), threshold criterion7 ,
stimuli durations, systems for the production of vibration, subject groups,
etc. For example, the influence of different measuring methods are visible
in data from Parsons & Griffin which show almost the lowest and highest
perception curves8 [...] lowest curve with signal detection theory for 36
subjects, highest curve with method of adjustment for 8 subjects, Griffin, 1990. The measured data in this study look very similar to data from
McKay (1972) and show no considerable differences to some other literature
data in the frequency range from 16 Hz upwards. But there are substantial differences between the summarized data for the low frequency range
in Fig. 3.13. These varieties for lower frequencies are not explicable with
different absolute threshold criteria because the measurement of the psychometric function for 14 subjects at 5 Hz show that the differences between
the 70.7% and the 50% criterion are just around 1.5 dB. But the varieties
for different laboratories are max. about 10 dB for 5 Hz. However, the
differences between the summarized data in Fig. 3.13 for the low frequency
range are probably explained by the fact that [...] lower curves will occur
when visual or auditory stimuli provide additional cues to the presence of
motion (Griffin, 1990). However, on the one hand a part of variability in
thresholds between different studies can be explained with used different
subjects or subject groups (Parsons & Griffin, 1988). But on the other hand
the effects of the used measuring method, stimuli duration, audible noise
essentially influence this basic experiment (the influence of some parameter
are shown in Chapter 3.4). Finally, all measured data show particular variations to the existing standards (VDI 2057-2, 1987; ISO 2631-2, 1989) which
are influenced and are based on data from Reiher & Meister (1931).
3.6
Experiment 3: Just noticeable differences

effects of level and frequency
The just noticeable differences (JNDs) are the relative difference thresholds
in a stimulus magnitude or frequency. These differences in the magnitude
I or in the frequency f are often signified as difference thresholds in the
7 Most
of the summarized data used the 50% criterion for the absolute threshold.
Griffin (1976) reports: [...] these curves show that the different results
may be mainly attributed to different criterion adopted by the subjects (low value at 63 Hz
were associated with imperfections in the stimulus).
8 Furthermore,
3.6. Exp. 3: Just Noticeable Differences (JND)
87
literature and have been measured for audible stimuli several times. The
relationship (relative difference threshold I/I or f /f ) between the absolute detected differences of the magnitude (I) or frequency (f ) and
the magnitude or frequency (I, f ) of a stimulus is a constant ratio c (as
proposed by E.H. Weber, see Chapter 1.2). This law can be stated as:
I
=c
I
or
I = c I
(3.3)
The JNDs are well known for audible stimuli and are important parameters
in psychoacoustics because they show, for example, which level differences
in an audible stimulus are distinguishable. This could be an important
parameter for the explanation of differences for heard sounds. But there is a
lack of studies for vibration stimuli for the JNDs. There are just two studies
found in the literature for Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL) with
a sinusoidal vertical excitation (Bellmann, 1999; Morioka & Griffin, 2000).
But both studies used just a limited number of test frequencies (e.g., just
for 5 and 20 Hz). Moreover, there are no data in the literature found for the
Just Noticeable Differences in Frequency (JNDF). Therefore the JNDLs and
the JNDFs are measured in this study for test frequencies which are varied
in the frequency range from 5 to 50 Hz or 5 to 40 Hz. These difference
thresholds are determined in a nearly silent environment (see Chapter 2.1.2)
without any additional audible stimuli. This is why the frequency range is
limited to 50 Hz. Above 50 Hz an influence of the emitted sound of the
vibration-floor is not excluded (Chapter 2.1.2).
3.6.1
Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL)
The JNDLs are measured for vertical whole-body vibrations with an adaptive
3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method (Levitt, 1971, Chapter 1.2.2)
with seated subjects. AFC measuring methods are often used to determine
the JNDLs with audible stimuli in psychoacoustic measurements and with
vibration stimuli (e.g., Morioka & Griffin, 2000). The initial step-size of
4 dB is halved after each upper reversal to a final step-size of 0.25 dB. The
reference stimulus is a sinusoidal vibration of the same frequency as the teststimulus with an acceleration level of LV ib = 96 dB (a = 0.063 m/s2 ). This
level is about 10 dB above the measured perception threshold for vertical
whole-body vibration (Fig. 3.11). The test-stimuli are varied from 5 to
50 Hz in 1/3rd octave steps and have an initial acceleration level of 101 dB
(a = 0.112 m/s2 ). In this experiment the subjects feel three vibrations
(intervals, 3 - AFC), two of the intervals include the reference stimulus
and one interval comprises the test-stimulus with the same frequency but
88
JNDL [dB]
2.5
0.33
0.26
1.5
0.19
0.12
0.5
0.06
12.5
20
31.5
Relative difference threshold, I/I
Data of this study, a = 0.063 m/s (1s)

2
2
Morioka & Griffin 99, a = 0.1 m/s
2
50
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.14: JNDLs are plotted as a function of frequency (left y-axis). On the
right y-scale the relative difference thresholds (I/I) are denoted. The opened
signals mark an stimulus duration of 1 s and the results with closed symbols are
measured with 2 s. Additionally, data from Morioka & Griffin (2000) at different
acceleration level for 5 and 20 Hz are shown.
a different (higher) acceleration level. The task for the subjects is to mark
that interval in which they felt the vibration with the highest magnitude.
This experiment is a decrement method that means that the level of the
test-stimuli cannot be less than the level of the reference stimulus (that
means that in the extreme condition all three felt vibrations have the same
acceleration level). 16 subjects (5 females and 11 males) assist in these
measurements. The stimuli duration is 2 s for frequencies up to 12.5 Hz
and 1 s for frequencies from 12.5 Hz upwards9 . The test frequency 12.5 Hz
is measured with 1 and 2 s duration to investigate if there are any influences
of the stimulus duration on the JNDLs for that frequency. The results for
12.5 Hz are slightly shifted in the frequency range for a better illustration.
The relative individual difference threshold is the median of the values taken
from the last four reversals with the final step-size.
The mean values and the interindividual standard deviations of the JNDLs
are represented as a function of frequency for the 16 subjects in Fig. 3.14.
Additionally, on the right y-axis the mean values of the relative difference
9 according
to results of the pre-experiment for perception thresholds in Chapter 3.4
89
Absoulte difference thresholds, I [m/s ]
0.06
0.05
2

2
2
2
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
12.5
20
31.5
50
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.15: The absolute difference thresholds (I) in level for 16 subjects in
comparison to data from Morioka & Griffin (2000) are shown. The data are
slightly shifted in frequency range for a better illustration.
thresholds (I/I) are plotted. The results show that a level difference of
about 1.5 dB with a standard deviation of about 0.4 dB is independent of
frequency detectable in a frequency range from 5 to 50 Hz. The single data
of the difference thresholds for individuals range from 0.5 dB to 2.5 dB with
an intraindividual standard deviation of below 0.4 dB. There are no significant differences between the measured JNDLs at the eleven frequencies
(T-Test, p < 0.01), as well as between a stimulus duration of 1 and 2 s for
12.5 Hz.
In the literature just a few data of the JNDLs exist, as mentioned before.
Moreover no standard values are specified. In Fig. 3.14 and 3.15 data from
Morioka & Griffin (2000) are presented in comparison to the results of this
study. The literature data are measured with a similar method (2 AFC
1 up - 3 down, 79.4% of the psychometric function) with higher reference
acceleration levels of 100 and 114 dB (0.1 and 0.5 m/s2 ) and a stimulus duration of 4 s. The results of Morioka & Griffin (2000) are slightly shifted in
frequency range for a better illustration (Fig. 3.14 and 3.15). If the JNDLs
are independent of the reference magnitude the relative results of Morioka
& Griffin should be a bit higher than the results of this study because the
90
threshold criterion is the 79.4% point of the psychometric function instead

of 70.7% point which is used in this study. But the JNDLs of this study are
a bit higher than those presented by Morioka & Griffin (2000) (mean values,
Fig. 3.14). The data of Morioka & Griffin (2000) show no frequency dependence for measured JNDLs at low magnitudes. The differences between the
two studies are not significant (T-Test,p < 0.05) and could be explained by
the usage of different subject groups or, what is more probable, the JNDLs
are not independent of level so that the relative difference thresholds decrease with increasing reference level. For comparison, the mean values with
standard deviations of the absolute difference thresholds (I) are shown in
Fig. 3.15, as well. The individual absolute difference thresholds vary from
0.0037 to 0.021 m/s2 with a mean threshold of 0.0115 m/s2 . Moreover,
the absolute difference thresholds (I) rise with increasing reference magnitude, but the relative difference threshold (I/I) and the JNDLs decrease
a little with increasing reference magnitude.
Some other studies report about JNDLs but those are usually measured
on real car seats like, e.g., Baumann et al. (2001a) and sometimes with
real measured (broadband) vibration signals. The contact areas between
the human body and a real car seat or rigid seat are considerable different.
Furthermore, a just vertical excitation of a real car seat is almost impossible
(Chapter 5.3). Therefore the transmitted vibrations from a real car seat
comprise almost components in more than the vertical direction. That is
the reason why these results are not really comparable to each other. Nevertheless, the results of Baumann et al. on a real car seat validate the findings
shown above that a JNDL of 1.5 dB or less (for higher acceleration levels)
is detectable.
3.6.2
Just Noticeable Differences in Frequency (JNDF)
The difference thresholds in frequency are measured for the perception of

vertical whole-body vibrations with the same measuring methods as the
JNDLs (adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down). The reference stimulus is a
sinusoidal vibration with a fixed frequency fref which is varying in octavesteps from 5 to 40 Hz and the same fixed acceleration level of LV ib =
96 dB (a = 0.063 m/s2 ) as the test-stimulus. The test-stimuli starts with a
frequency of ftest = fref + f . The start values for f are determined
in pre-tests and are 12 Hz for 5, 10 and 20 Hz and 25 Hz for 40 Hz. The
initial step-size of 8 Hz is halved after each upper reversal to a final stepsize of 0.25 Hz. The task of the participating volunteers is to mark that
interval in which they felt the vibration with the highest frequency. This
experiment is a decrement measurement (f 0) again. The relative
91
20
Sub.1
Sub.2
Sub.3
Sub.4
Sub.5
Sub.6
16
12
JNDF [Hz]
8
4
0
20
16
12
8
4
0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.16: The individual JNDFs of six subjects are plotted as a function of
the test frequency (linear x-scale) as mean values with intraindividual standard
deviations.
individual difference threshold is the median of the values taken from the
last four reversals. Six subjects (1 female and 5 males) participated in this
measurement, with three repetitions. The stimuli duration is 2 s for 5 and
10 Hz, and 1 s for 20 and 40 Hz, respectively, according to results of the
previous experiments (Chapter 3.4).
The individual measured data of the six subjects are plotted in Fig. 3.16 as
mean values inclusive intraindividual standard deviations. One subject was
not able to measure the JNDF for fref = 40 Hz because a decrement of
f = 25 Hz was not detected. The JNDFs increase frequency depending on
0.25 to about 16.7 Hz at 40 Hz, as well as the interindividual standard deviations which rise from nearly 0 to about 3.1 Hz. These data show that there
are almost no differences for low frequencies but the differences between
individuals in detecting frequency changes increase with rising frequency.
The intraindividual standard deviations are very small for low reference frequencies and are ranged like the interindividual standard deviations which
depend on the reference frequency. A correlation analysis points out that
the correlation coefficient between the reference frequency and the JNDFs is
statistically significant (p < 0.001, r = 0.93 ). A linear regression curve
is calculated according to the correlation analysis. This curve is pictured
with the mean values and the interindividual standard deviations as well as
the single results of the six individuals (mean values of the three repetitions)
in Fig. 3.17, as well. A good match between the linear regression and the
measured (averaged) data is listed. Thus, humans are able to differentiate
92
18
Averaged Data
Individual Data
Linear Regression
16
14
JNDF [Hz]
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.17: The averaged relative difference thresholds (f ) for six subjects in
comparison to the interindividual noticeable frequency differences. Additionally,
the linear regression curve is plotted as a function of frequency. The correlation
coefficient between the individual JNDFs and the frequency is significant, r =
0.93 .
between two vibrations of 5 and 5.4 Hz (f = 0.4); above 5 Hz f increases in proportion to frequency and is about 0.34 f 1.25 Hz. The
equation is just applicable for reference-frequencies between 5 and 40 Hz. It
is not possible to give some propositions about the JNDF for higher or lower
reference frequencies. A comparison to literature data is not possible because no studies about JNDFs for sinusoidal vertical whole-body vibrations
are found in the literature or in existing standards.
3.7
Experiment 4: Equal-vibration level

contours
The equal-vibration level contours (EVLC) are comparable with the equalloudness level contours in psychoacoustics. The equal-loudness level contours describe the subjective equality of two audible sinusoidal sounds with
different frequencies in a level range from the auditory threshold to the pain
threshold. These curves are given in phon, whereas the sound pressure level
3.7. Exp. 4: Equal-Vibration Level Contours (EVLC)
93
in dB corresponds to the loudness (level) in phon at a sinusoidal signal of

f = 1 kHz, and are specified in the ISO 226 (1987). The equal-loudness
level curves have a local minimum between 1 kHz and 4 kHz and the curves
increase with decreasing and rising frequencies. These shapes reflect that
the human ear is very sensitive to frequencies between 1 and 4 kHz. Furthermore, the equal-loudness level contours do not just depend on frequency
but also on level. The shape of the contours at low levels, which are audible,
e.g., the 10 and 20 phon curve, are very similar to the shape of the auditory
threshold but for higher levels (e.g., 60 phon curve) the shapes become more
flat.
In existing standards for the perception of vibrations, e.g., VDI 2057-2
(1987); ISO 2631-2 (1989), curves above the perception thresholds are
specified for the horizontal plane (x/y-axes) and vertical direction (z-axis)
to describe the sensation or perception of whole-body vibrations. These
curves are the standardized perception thresholds multiplied with K-values
(Fig. 1.10 in Chapter 1.1.3 and Fig. A.2 in Appendix C). Such curves
are from decisive interest for measured vibrations in real situations like in
buildings or transport facilities in daily life where vibrations above the perception thresholds usually occur. The measured curves could be used as
submittal for creating psychophysically motivated spectral weighting functions for broadband vibration signals by reversing the curves (e.g., Chapter 4
or Fig. A.1 in Appendix A). In the literature such curves are sometimes denoted as equal-subjective vibration intensity (Shoenberger & Harris, 1971)
or equivalent-comfort contours (e.g., summarized in Griffin, 1990) because
the task of the participating subjects was to judge the presented stimuli
by their subjective comfort or discomfort sensation. In my opinion this
task might include some problems because there is no standardized definition of comfort or discomfort, specified in an existing standard, so that
the judgement criteria could differ between subjects. Most of the measured
equivalent-comfort contours for vertical vibrations and with seated subjects,
which are published by ,e.g., Dupuis et al., 1972a-c; Griffin (1982); Donati et
al. (1983); Corbridge & Griffin (1986) and others, feature a rising curve for
increasing frequency above 8 Hz with a slope of about 6 dB/octave These
curves are mostly measured at high accelerations (a 0.5 m/s2 ) and show
no considerable differences to the specified curves in existing standards (e.g.,
VDI 2057-2). But there is a lack of data in the lower acceleration range.
Furthermore, the shapes of the equivalent-comfort contours and the perception threshold, especially for a vertical excitation, which are published
in the literature, show particularly no accordance to each other. For the
vertical whole-body vibrations, the perception thresholds of some studies
are summarized in Fig. 3.13 and for the equivalent comfort contours some
94
results of different studies are summarized in Griffin (1990) .

In this study such curves are indicated as equal-vibration level contours
since the level and not the comfort (or discomfort) perception is assessed
by the subjects. The task for the subjects is: Which of the two presented
vibrations was stronger ? The equal-vibration level contours (EVLC) are
measured with an adaptive 2 - AFC interleaved 1 up - 1 down method10
(Buus et al., 1997, Chapter 1.2.2) with 15 subjects (3 female and 12 male).
This method is used because recent studies (Buus et al., 1997; Reckhardt et
al., 1998) show that this method minimizes the influence of several method
parameters, e.g., the initial starting level of the test stimulus or the presented
level range, on equal-loudness level contours and other loudness experiments
in psychoacoustics. There are no studies found in the literature for vibration
experiments but in the following measurements it can be shown that the
influence of the initial acceleration level of the test vibration is minimized.
Interleaved means that several adapting measurements with various test
stimuli and conditions (here initial acceleration level of the test vibrations)
are measured simultaneously in one measurement, whereas each test stimulus is compared to the same reference stimulus (see Chapter 1.2.2). In this
experiment, four different test stimuli are measured simultaneously in one
trial method, (Fig. 1.15). 12 different test frequencies (sinusoidal vibrations)
which are varied in 1/3rd octave steps from 5 to 80 Hz11 , except for 25, 40
and 50 Hz which are used with three different initial acceleration levels: 90,
100 and 110 dB. The influence of the presented vibration levels will be investigated with such a large variance of the initial level. The reference stimulus is a sinusoidal vertical whole-body vibration with a reference-frequency
fRef = 20 Hz and a fixed reference-level of LV ib = 100 dB and an acceleration of 0.1 m/s2 . It is not possible or easy to compare vibrations, which
differ too much in frequency from each other because the perception is too
different which is confirmed in pre-tests. For example, the comparison of 5
and 80 Hz (minimal and maximal frequency in this experiment) is almost
impossible. Therefore a reference signal of a frequency between is necessary. In this experiment 20 Hz is used for the reference stimulus because 5 or
80 Hz are two octave below or above 20 Hz. The stimulus duration depends
on frequency: below 16 Hz the duration12 is 2 s and above it is 1 s. The initial step-size of each adaptive measurement is 6 dB and decreases to a final
step-size of 1.5 dB (measured JNDL in Chapter 3.6.1). The method stops
10 Selects
the 50% point of the psychometric function.

higher frequencies problems with the emitted sound of the system and bone
conduction could probably occur. That is the reason why 80 Hz is the highest frequency.
12 16 Hz is measured with 1 and 2 s stimulus duration to verify if this point depends
on the exposure.
11 At
0.56
110
0.316
105
0.178
100
0.1
95
115
Acceleration [m/s ]
Mean
Initial Level 90 dB
Initial Level 100 dB
Initial Level 110 dB
95
0.056
Ref.: f=20Hz; LVib=100dB <=> a=0.1m/s2
90
12.5
20
31.5
50
80
0.031
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.18: Measured data of equal-vibration level contours with various starting
conditions (labeled after starting levels) and the overall averaged curve (mean).
These curves are measured at low magnitudes with a reference of a sinusoidal
vertical vibration with a frequency of 20 Hz and a level of a = 0.1 m/s2 . The
closed symbols mark results with a stimulus duration of 2 s and the opened symbols
of 1 s.
after four reversals with the final step-size of 1.5 dB for each test stimulus
and from these data the median is calculated. The order of the test and
the reference stimulus, as well as the order of the different test stimuli, are
randomized to prohibit order effects. This experiment is repeated for each
frequency and for each starting condition three times for each volunteer so
that nine results (three repetitions for three initial acceleration levels) for
each subject and frequency are available for the analysis.
Averaged results of all subjects for different starting conditions (labeled
after levels) are plotted in Fig. 3.18, as well as the mean values (labeled as
mean) of all measured data inclusive interindividual standard deviations.
There are no significant differences between the different starting conditions
to each other and between the starting conditions and the overall mean curve
(T-Test, p < 0.001). This figure shows that no influence of the different
starting conditions on the equal-vibration level contours is recognized with
the used measuring method. The mean values increase depending on the
frequency from 6.3 to 80 Hz. The interindividual standard deviation rises
with increasing or decreasing frequency from fRef = 20 Hz up to 80 Hz
96
0.316
105
100
0.1
110
Acceleration [m/s ]
115
95
90
12.5
20
31.5
50
80
0.031
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.19: Overall mean values inclusive interindividual standard deviations (like
in Fig. 3.18) and four individual curves from four subjects with different judgement
behaviors to illustrate the interindividual differences.
or down to 5 dB, respectively. The intraindividual standard deviations are

ranged between 1 and 2 dB for frequencies up to 31.5 Hz and increase
slightly for higher frequencies. For the reference frequency fRef = 20 Hz the
intraindividual standard deviations are below 0.5 dB which indicates a high
repeatability for each subject. The individual differences between subjects
are shown in Fig. 3.19 for four subjects with different judgement behaviors in
comparison to the overall mean and the interindividual standard deviation.
The intraindividual standard deviations are not printed in Fig. 3.19 for a
better overview but the intraindividual standard deviations are less than
2 dB. The measured curves of the participating subjects show considerable
differences to each other, especially for higher frequencies.
In this (acceleration) level range only a few data exist in literature (e.g.,
Howarth & Griffin, 1990) which are presented in Fig. 3.20, as well as the
measured data from the present study13 . The data from Howarth & Griffin (1990) were obtained with a different reference stimulus and measuring
method: a narrow band (audible) noise as reference and a method of magnitude estimation was used. The contours obtained for magnitude estimates
13 Most of the literature data were measured for higher vibration magnitudes (from
0.5 m/s2 up to some m/s2 ). These data are summarized in Griffin and show a frequency
depending increase with approximately 6 dB/octave from nearly f = 8 Hz upwards.
97
of 50, 100 and 200 (comparing to the reference) that is why the data are
not really comparable to each other. However, the results for a magnitude
estimation of 50 from Howarth & Griffin show no large differences to the
measured equal-vibration level contours of the present study in spite of the
used reference stimulus. For higher magnitude estimations (100 and 200)
the curves get more and more flat to nearly a constant acceleration level
of LV ib = 110 dB. Additionally, a standard curve specified in VDI 20572 (1987) with a multiplying factor of KZ = 0.8 (Fig.A.2), is plotted in
Fig. 3.20, too. This multiplying factor is used to specify sufficient magnitudes of building vibrations with respect to human response to vibrations and
have been applied to the standard perception threshold14 . This curve shows
a frequency depending increase of 6 dB/octave and features considerable
differences to the summarized measured curves.
Howarth & Griffin 90
ISO 2631 2 89
Data of this study
0.56
H&G Ref.: Noise (1/3Octaveband) f = 1 kHz, L(A) = 77 dB

c
110
0.316
ISO with KB = 0.8
105
0.178
100
0.1
95
Accleration [m/s2]
115
0.056
B. Ref.: Vibration (sinusoidal) 20 Hz, LVib = 100 dB
90
12.5
20
31.5
50
80
0.031
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.20: Data of Fig. 3.18 with literature data (Howarth & Griffin, 1990) and
existing standard (VDI 2057-2, KZ = 0.8) for comparison. The data of Howarth
& Griffin (1990) are determined with a different reference stimulus and a method
of magnitude estimation of 50, 100 and 200.
The measured perception threshold, as well as the equal-vibration level contours from this study are shown in Fig. 3.21 for a better comparison. The
14 Measured equal-vibration level contour coincides in level to the standard curve at
fRef = 20 Hz.
115
0.56
Equal Vibration Level Contour
Perception Threshold
110
0.316
105
0.177
100
0.1
95
0.056
Ref.: 20Hz, 100 dB = 0.1m/s
90
0.031
85
0.017
80
16
31.5
63
125
200
Acceleration [m/s2]
98
0.01
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 3.21: Measured perception threshold of this study in comparison to measured
equal-vibration level contours.
shapes of the perception threshold and the equal-vibration level contour

deviate from each other. As opposed to the perception threshold which
is nearly constant from 8 Hz upwards the equal-vibration level contour increases with rising frequency from 6 or 8 Hz, respectively, upwards with
nearly 2.3 dB/octave The perception threshold corresponds to a proportionality between the perception of the vibration and a constant acceleration level. As opposed, the slope of the equal-vibration level contour does
not show a proportionality between the equal-vibration level sensation and
a constant acceleration or a constant changing of the velocity (v = x/t)
which will be characterized by an 6 dB/octave increase. Furthermore, there
are differences between the presented data at low magnitudes and literature results for higher accelerations a 0.5 m/s2 and measured health risk
curves (pain thresholds, e.g., measured by Magid et al., 1998) which feature such a 6 dB/octave slope. The differences between these curves cannot
be explained by a frequency depending JNDL because these are constant
up to 50 Hz at about 1.5 dB or slightly less for acceleration levels between
0.1 and 0.5 m/s2 . This changing slope in the curves shown is rather an
effect of acceleration on the sensation of vertical whole-vibrations between
the perception threshold and the reported equal-vibration level contours at
3.8. Discussion
99
high magnitudes and health risk curves (pain thresholds).
3.8
Discussion
Basic experiments on the perception of vertical whole-body vibrations for

seated subjects are conducted using new and reliable methods in psychoacoustics. In the first experiment the psychometric function is measured in a
level range from 75 to 90 dB for vertical whole-body vibrations. This curve
increases from P (L) = 33% (probability to detect by chance) to 100% (all
stimuli detected) in less than 10 dB. A maximum likelihood fit shows a good
consistence to the measured data and points out that the slope is 10.7 %/dB
at the central point L50 = 82.9 dB of the averaged logistical function. The
interindividual differences are very large for the slopes and the L50 , as well.
Additionally, with the knowledge of the psychometric function the differences between 50% and 70.7% threshold criterion can be determined. The
difference is about 1.5 dB which is nearly the just noticeable difference in
level.
Before the perception thresholds are measured in a broadband frequency
range two pre-experiments about parameter, which could influence the perception thresholds, are conducted. In the first pre-experiment, the duration
dependence of the perception threshold is measured. The perception threshold decreases with increasing stimulus duration up to an exposure of 2 s and
is nearly unchanged for frequencies below 16 Hz afterwards. This tendency
is not significant for the averaged data of all subjects but is nearly always significant for the individual measured data (p < 0.05). For 16 Hz an exposure
of 1 s gives similar results with longer stimulus durations. For this reason
the succeeding experiments are conducted with a stimulus duration of 2 s
for vibrations between 5 and 12.5 Hz and of 1 s for higher vibrations. Furthermore, the 70.7% point of the psychometric function is repeatable with
an adaptive 3 AFC 1 up - 2 down method which is used in the following experiments (Fig. 3.6). Additionally, the perception thresholds are measured
without (just background noise, L = 33 dB(A) - silent condition) and with
an audible (masking) component (pink noise, L = 69 dB(A)) in the frequency range from 16 to 200 Hz in the second pre-experiment. No influence
of an additional audible stimulus on the perception threshold is observable,
except for 63 Hz. This measured data is influenced in the silent condition
by the emitted sound of the vibration-floor which is used for the production
of vibration (Fig. 2.6). The results indicate that this vibrating system can
be used for measurement on the perception of vertical vibrations without
any disturbing emitted sound up to a frequency of 63 Hz.
100
The perception threshold for vertical whole-body vibrations is measured in

a frequency range from 5 to 200 Hz taking into account the results of the
two pre-experiments thereafter. The averaged perception curve increases
from 5 to 8 Hz with nearly 7 dB/octave and is constant up to 63 Hz at
a level of LV ib = 88 dB. For higher frequencies the perception threshold
decreases a bit to a level of LV ib = 86 dB. This slightly increasing sensitivity
- decreasing perception threshold - for 125 and 200 Hz depends probably
on bone conduction threshold. However a measurement of the perception
threshold is difficult or maybe impossible even with masking audible noise,
if bone conduction influences the perception thresholds for higher frequencies. This is probably the reason why no or only a few data above 80 Hz
are available for the perception threshold in the literature. However, the
presented perception threshold for vertical whole-body vibrations show no
larger deviations to literature data (Fig 3.13), except for low frequencies
below 16 Hz which are often influenced by visual or audible additional cues
(e.g., Griffin, 1990, Fig. 3.13). Standards for vertical vibrations show a frequency dependent increase from 8 Hz upwards and are up to 50 Hz lower
and then higher as the summarized data, thereafter. Thus the standard
data overestimate or underestimate the vertical whole-body vibrations below or above 50 Hz, respectively. The particularly considerable differences
between individuals in the perception thresholds in this study are not explicable with anthropometric exogenous variables, like weight and body-size,
or endogenous variables, like age and gender. These findings verify results
of different other studies which are found in the literature for some other experiments on the perception of whole-body vibrations (Griffin & Whitham,
1978; Orbone et al, 1981; Griffin, 1982; Parsons & Griffin, 1982; Corbridge
& Griffin, 1986; Griefahn & Br
ode, 1997; Baumann, 2001b). Additionally,
the seat pressure distribution of some participants is measured during the
measurements of the perception thresholds. Objective parameters, which
are calculated from the averaged seat pressure distributions, like mean and
maximum value of the measured pressure or of the pressure gradient, are
not helpful to explain the differences between individuals for the perception of vertical whole-body vibrations (see also the diploma thesis of Kruse,
2001). This experiment shows that data from different laboratories with a
fixed measuring technique and a fixed set-up are needed to get a revision of
the standard perception threshold which are specified in existing standards
(e.g., ISO 2631-2, 1989; VDI 2057-2, 1987). Additionally, future researches
should investigate the differences between subjects because there are no
objective parameters found to explain the differences yet.
In the third experiment the JNDs (Just Noticeable Differences), also called
difference thresholds, in level and frequency are measured in a frequency
3.8. Discussion
101
range from 5 Hz to 50 Hz (JNDL) and from 5 Hz to 40 Hz (JNDF) for

vertical whole-body vibrations with a reference level of LV ib = 96 dB (corresponds to a = 0.063 m/s2 ). The individual JNDLs range from 0.5 to
2.5 dB with an overall mean, which is independent of frequency of about
1.5 dB with an interindividual standard deviation of 0.4 dB (absolute difference thresholds, L = 0.012 m/s2 0.0035 m/s2 , respectively). The
intraindividual standard deviations ( 0.4 dB) indicate a high reproducibility of the JNDLs. There are no significant differences between the difference thresholds at the eleven different frequencies (p < 0.01). Additionally,
no significant differences are observed for 1 and 2 s stimulus duration for
12.5 Hz, except for the intra- and interindividual standard deviations which
increase slightly for 1 s duration. Studies from literature (e.g., Baumann et
al., 2001a), which are measured with nearly the same references level and
in the same frequency range, report similar results even though the data are
measured on a real car seat (with a foam seat surface and a full backrest). In
contrast to these findings, results from Morioka & Griffin (2000) (measured
on a rigid seat, as well), which are measured at 5 and 20 Hz, are in a level
range from 0.9 to 1 dB 0.57 dB at a level of 100 and 114 dB (0.1 and
0.5 m/s2 r.m.s.). These data show that the absolute difference thresholds
increase with increasing stimuli magnitude in contrast to the JNDLs which
decrease with increasing magnitude of the stimuli. However, the findings
of Morioka & Griffin are independent of frequency. It would be expected
that the data from Morioka & Griffin (2000) are a bit higher for the relative
JNDLs because a 79.4% criterion instead of a 70.7% (like in this study) is
used. The differences between the summarized results point out that the
JNDLs probably depend on the reference level.
Furthermore, the JNDFs are measured at the same reference level of LV ib =
96 dB. The averaged detectable frequency thresholds increase from about
0.4 Hz at 5 Hz with increasing reference frequency to nearly 12.4 Hz at
40 Hz. This corresponds to an increase in proportion of frequency of approximately 0.34 f 1.25 Hz in the frequency range from 5 to 40 Hz.
The intra- and interindividual standard deviations increase noticeable with
increasing frequency (from nearly 0 up to about 3.1 Hz). There are no
other data in the literature or values in existing standards found for JNDFs
with vibration signals. In comparison to that, measured JNDFs for audible
stimuli in psychoacoustics are constant values of about 1 Hz below 500 Hz
and above the JNDFs increase with 0.002 f which indicates a higher frequency sensitivity in changes of frequency for the ear as for the skin (sense
of touch).
In the last (fourth) experiment equal-vibration level contours (comparable to
equal-loudness level contours) are determined with an adaptive 2 - AFC in-
102
terleaved 1 up - 1 down measuring method in the frequency range from 5 to

80 Hz for vertical whole-body vibration. This measuring method minimizes
the influences of the experimental procedure, e.g., the initial level dependence of test vibrations on the results (Fig. 3.18). The equal-vibration
level contours are measured approximately 10 dB above the perception
threshold - reference stimuli: sinusoidal vibration with fRef = 20 Hz and
LRef = 100 dB. The measured curve is constant between 5 and 6.3 Hz
and shows an increase of 2.3 dB/octave from 6.3 to 63 Hz. For higher
frequencies the slope increases (6 dB/octave). In the literature only a few
data for these curves at such low magnitudes exist which are often referred
to as equivalent-comfort contours. Data from Howarth & Griffin (1990) are
placed slightly higher or around the equal-vibration level contours due to another measuring procedure and using a different reference stimulus (audible
noise, Fig. 3.20). Therefore these curves are not really comparable with the
data of this study, but both findings show similar tendencies based on the
dependence on frequency. The standard curve (KZ = 0.8, defined in VDI
2057-2, 1987) increases with 6 dB/octave corresponding to the standard
perception threshold in the same frequency range. This slope is more than
two times higher as the measured data and shows considerable differences
to the presented data.
The shapes of the presented perception threshold and the equal-vibration
level contours exhibit considerable differences to each other even though the
contour is measured almost 10 dB above the perception curve (Fig. 3.21).
The differences in both curves are not explicable with frequency depending
JNDLs because the difference thresholds in this level and frequency range are
independent of frequency. More equal-vibration level contours are needed,
especially with reference acceleration levels between the perception threshold
and the presented equal-vibration level contour with a reference level of
LV ib = 100 dB to investigate the differences in the shape of both presented
curves.
Chapter 4
Methods for improving the
objective description of
subjective car vibration quality
assessments
The comfort or discomfort caused by noise and vibrations in passenger cabins is a decisive condition for the acceptability of a vehicle. One way to judge
acoustic and vibration quality standards is to employ professional subjectivetesters with long term experiences for evaluating the noise and vibration
impact in the car. One testing method in the car industry is concerned
with the quality of booming noise, seat and steering-wheel vibrations in idle
running cars. It would be very advantageous to know the properties of noise
and vibration signals which are fundamental to the subjective quality assessments. Therefore signal parameters, which are calculated from recordings
of the sound and the vibrations inside cars, are searched in order to describe
and forecast the quality judgements.
This study dissects just the objective parameters and the appendant subjective assessments of the seat and steering-wheel vibrations. The aim is to
improve the subjective comfort in cars and to find objective parameters for
the recorded vibration signals which are better suited to describe good or
poor quality assessments of subjective-testers. Some clues are proposed in
different studies in literature (for example, Pielemeier et al, 1999; Wan-Sup
Cheung et al., 1999; Bellmann et al., 2000b). Psychophysically motivated
parameters specified in existing standards (e.g., the ISO 2631-1/2 or the
VDI 2057-1/2/3), as well as signal parameters from the car industry are
104
Chapter 4. Objective description of comfort inside cars
considered for classification of seat and steering-wheel vibrations. Therefore

the following investigation presents the status-quo for objective description
of the subjective vibration quality assessments to improve the subjective
comfort in vehicles. The calculated parameters will be correlated with the
comfort ratings of subjective-testers.
4.1
Experimental set-up
The relation between subjective comfort assessments and objective parameters of interior car vibrations (seat and steering-wheel vibrations) are
evaluated. The testing-sessions in a car comprise subjective judgements of
the quality of vibration and interior sound, as well as recordings of sound and
vibration signals (vibro-acoustic signals) from the seat and steering-wheel as
well as the sound field in a car simultaneously (Chapter 4.2). Hence each
car is tested in three different idle running conditions:
without any consumer on (each consumer off)
with light and rear window heating on (with consumer on) and
additional running air-condition, if possible
These testing-sessions are a popular tool in car-industry and are used for a
revision of the quality of car production. Additionally, the subjective ratings
of the vibro-acoustic quality of a car are a good way for prototyping of new
cars and for sound and vibration design. The usage of professional testers is
a more common standard in the car industry because the testers know the
variance which possibly occur in a car type (production run). Furthermore,
the testers are highly trained subjects who are able to give constant and
repeatable results for the evaluation of different vehicles belonging to the
same car type. Therefore it is possible to evaluate and to supervise the
serial production of cars by these testers. The subjective-testers are able to
recognize different cars during a testing-session which is confirmed in dry
runnings.
Used Cars The testing-sessions are conducted in cars from three different car classes (small, middle and upper middle class) with just 4-cylinder
engine models. Therefore, it is possible to investigate if the parameters for
the description of the subjective quality of the seat and the steering-wheel
vibrations depend on the used car class (type) or if the parameters are global
variables. The number of the used cars was changed from class to class:
4.2. Calculation of the objective signal parameters
105
for upper middle class NP = 3 petrol and ND = 9 diesel-engine cars are

measured. For middle class cars NP = 7 and ND = 9 are available for this
analysis and NP = 8 and ND = 8 for small class. The vehicles in one car
class belong to the same type of car.
Some of the tested cars have no air condition. That is the reason why the
total number of available data1 are as followed:
upper middle class cars: nP = 9 / nD = 26
middle class cars: nP = 18 / nD = 27
small class cars: nP = 21 / nD = 22
4.2
Calculation of the objective signal parameters
19 channel signal recordings

The vibro-acoustic signals are recorded with a SQLab II System and the software package ArtemiS 3.01.100 from HEAD acoustics in combination with
an IBM Thinkpad. During the subjective ratings the following vibro-acoustic
signals in x/y/z- directions (axes) have been recorded by microphones and
accelerometers simultaneously. In particular:
Sound pressure p with window-microphones (B&K 4190) at the front
side windows - left (drivers side) and right (front-seat passengers
side) - in head height of an adult.
Sound pressure p (two channels) with an artificial head (HMS II from
HEAD acoustics) on the front-seat passengers side.
Vibration acceleration a at the right back rail of the drivers seat referred to as position P1 - (PCB 356A15 accelerometer, triaxial).
Vibration acceleration a at the left front rail of the drivers seat referred to as position P2- (PCB 356A15 accelerometer, triaxial).
Vibration acceleration a on the drivers seat (seat surface) - referred
to as position P3 - (accelerometer cushion MMF KB103SV, triaxial).
1 Numbers of signals n /n
P
D are the product of the number of different used cars
NP /ND and the tested conditions.
106
Vibration acceleration a at the back-rest of the drivers seat (accelerometer cushion MMF KB103SV, triaxial) for small and middle
class vehicles and at the head rest of the drivers seat (PCB 356A15
accelerometer, triaxial) for upper middle class cars - referred to as
position P4.
Vibration acceleration a at the steering wheel (highest place) - referred
to as wheel- (PCB 356A15 accelerometer, triaxial).
The following analysis is restricted to the evaluation of the vibration signals
from all four measuring positions (P1 to P4) of the seat vibrations and the
steering-wheel vibrations (measuring position wheel). The used measuring
positions of the seat and steering-wheel vibrations in a car are shown in
Fig. 4.1. The positions P2 to P4 are specified for laboratory methods for
evaluating vehicle seat vibrations in the ISO 10326-1 (1992) (Fig. A.3 in
Appendix A).
The first step in preparing the signals is to choose (by means of an editor)
intervals with no interfering disturbances which inevitably occur during the
recordings in the presence of humans in the cabin, especially on the seat.
The following calculations are based on these clean intervals which contain
just the interesting signals.
Steering-wheel
P2 front seat rail
P3 seat surface
Fig. 4.1: Measuring positions for seat (for example P2 and P3) and for steeringwheel (wheel) vibrations inside a car.
107
Analysis of the vibration signals

Averaged vibration spectra, which are calculated from the recorded signals,
are the basis for determination of the objective signal parameters. Those
parameters will be correlated with ratings of the subjective-testers. First
of all, objective psychophysically motivated signal parameters, which are
spectrally weighted and specified in existing standards (e.g., ISO 2631-1,
1997; VDI 2057-2, 1987; ISO 5349, 1986), and standard signal parameters,
which are usually used in the car industry, are taken for the description of
seat and steering-wheel vibrations. In particular four different parameters
are determined:
1. az rms acceleration in z-direction of the spectrally unweighted accelerations in the frequency range from 0 to 500 Hz (referred to as
unweighted z-acceleration). This objective parameter is determined
just for seat vibrations (Eq. 4.4).
2. awz rms acceleration in z-direction of the spectrally weighted accelerations in the frequency range from 0 to 500 Hz (referred to as
weighted z-acceleration). This objective parameter is calculated just
for seat vibrations (after ISO 2631-2, Eq. 4.4), as well.
3. a0V unweighted vibration total value (rms acceleration) of the spectrally unweighted rms accelerations in all three (x/y/z) directions in
the frequency range from 0 to 500 Hz (Eq. 4.2).
4. aV vibration total value (rms acceleration) of the spectrally weighted
rms accelerations in all three directions in the frequency range from
0 to 500 Hz (after ISO 2631-1, VDI 2057-2 for whole-body vibrations
or ISO 5349-1 for hand-arm transmitted vibrations, Eq. 4.1, Chapter 1.1.3).
The rms values instead of the Vibration Dose Values (VDV) are used because
an analysis of the recorded vibration signals points out that the crest factor
is below 6 and the vibration signals are nearly stationary. Therefore the
rms value is the adequate evaluation parameter for the description of the
vibrations (Chapter 1.1.3).
After calculating each x/y/z (rms) acceleration separately, the (spectrally
unweighted and weighted) vibration total values a0V and aV are combined
with the exponent na (related to the energy), weighting factors kj for different directions and j = x, y, z, as followed:
108
awx/y
aV
na na
kx na ana
awy + kz na ana
wx + ky
wz
a0V
na na
kx na ana
ay + kz na ana
x + ky
z
weighted
hX
i 12
=
(Wd,i ai )2
ax/y
hX
hX
i
1
i na
(4.2)
(4.3)
(Wk,i ai )2
i 21
az
awh
(4.1)
unweighted
h X i 12
=
a2i
awz
1
i na
hX
a2i
i 12
(4.4)
(Wh,i ai )2
i 12
ah
hX
a2i
i 12
(4.5)
with
aV
a0V
ai
Wd,i
Wk,i
Wh,i
kj
= the spectrally weighted vibration total value

= the spectrally unweighted vibration total value
= the rms acceleration for the ith frequency component of wholebody vibrations in x/y/z- directions or hand-arm vibrations
= the weighting factor for the ith frequency component of wholebody vibrations in x/y- direction
= the weighting factor for the ith frequency component of wholebody vibrations in z- direction
= the weighting factor for the ith frequency component of handarm vibrations in x/y/z- directions
= weighting-factors for the three (j = x/y/z) directions
The weighting factors kj for the three (x/y/z) directions are kx = ky = kz =

1, and the exponent is na = 2 according to the recommendation for comfort
and perception evaluation after ISO 2631-1 and VDI 2057-2. The spectral
weighting functions W for different directions are used according to ISO
2631-1, VDI 2057-2 and ISO 5349-1 for the calculation of the weighted rms
accelerations (vibration total value) aV . The spectral weighting functions
are based on psychophysical experiments. The comparison of the weighting
109
functions Wd and Wk indicates that the sensitivity of humans for vertical

vibrations (z-axis) is higher than for vibrations in the horizontal plane (x- and
y-axes) (Fig. 4.3 and Chapter 1.1.3). For hand-arm transmitted vibrations
only one weighting function Wh exists for all three directions (defined in
VDI 2057-2 and ISO 5349-1). Additionally, the weighting functions Wd and
Wk for whole-body vibrations are used for the calculation of an objective
evaluation parameter for steering-wheel vibrations in this study. During
the correlation analysis it was observed that the objective broadband signal
parameters do not always deliver high significant correlation coefficients
with the subjective ratings. Therefore signal parameters are determined
by calculating the (weighted and unweighted) vibration total value aV and
a0V , (weighted and unweighted) z-acceleration awz and az , respectively, in
specially selected narrow frequency bands around prominent motor orders
(see spectra in Fig. 4.2 and 4.4):
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
=
=
=
=
=
[ 0 f 500 Hz] whole spectrum (0 - 500 Hz)

[10 f 35 Hz] around the 1st and 2nd motor order
[20 f 35 Hz] around the 2nd motor order
[35 f 100 Hz] around the 4th to 6th motor order
[73 f 100 Hz] around 6th motor order
(just for steering-wheel vibrations)
Therefore 15 different parameters for steering-wheel vibrations2 and 16 different parameters for each measuring position for seat vibrations3 are at my
disposal for the following analysis. Typical averaged spectra in three dimensions (x-, y- and z-direction) of the seat vibrations and the steering-wheel
vibrations for 4-cylinder petrol- and diesel-engine cars for each car class
(type) are shown in Fig. 4.2 for the seat and in Fig. 4.4 for steering-wheel
vibrations. The acceleration values - here as well as in the following figures
- are given in arbitrary units [au]. The spectra have a resolution of 2.9 Hz
in the frequency range from 3 to 200 Hz. The cutoff frequency f = 200 Hz
is used for illustration because there is not a lot energy above 200 Hz in the
vibration signals and the sensitivity of the human body also decreases with
increasing frequency.
The spectra of the seat vibrations in Fig. 4.2 exhibit a typical peak-trough
structure which can be interpreted in terms of motor orders (MO). For ex2 Parameter: spectrally unweighted and weighted (with hand-arm and whole-body
vibration weighting functions) vibration total value in five different frequency ranges.
3 Parameter: spectrally unweighted and weighted z-acceleration and vibration total
value in four different frequency ranges.
110
Petrol
10
Diesel
3.16
1
.316
Acceleration [au]
0.1
xaxis
yasis
zaxis
10
xaxis
yasis
zaxis
3.16
1
.316
0.1
10
3.16
1
.316
0.1
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 4.2: Typical averaged spectra for seat vibrations of petrol- (left) and dieselengine models (right) in all three (x-, y- and z-) directions. For each car class
one typical petrol and diesel car is shown: upper middle class (top), middle class
(middle) and small class (bottom).
ample, a motor with 800 rpm in idle running condition shows the second
order at about 27 Hz and delivers the most prominent contribution for a 4cylinder engine. The following even order peaks clearly dominate the higher
frequency region. The distinct vertical vibrations (z-direction) does not give
considerably higher accelerations than those in the horizontal plane (x- and
y-directions), especially for higher motor orders for almost all investigated
cars from different car classes. The accelerations in x- and y-direction reach
particularly the acceleration values of the vertical (z-axis) around the 2nd
motor order for diesel cars. The y-acceleration (y-axis) gives the highest
contribution at higher motor order for petrol and diesel cars from the upper
middle and the middle class. The effect of the psychophysically motivated
spectral weighting functions Wd and Wk on the different frequency components in the three directions is visualized in Fig. 4.3. On the left side the
original spectra of the seat vibrations are shown. In comparison to that, the
weighted spectra of the same seat vibrations are given in the right figure.
Acceleration [au]
spectrally unweighted
10
111
spectrally weighted
1
0.1
xaxis
yaxis
zaxis
0.01
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 4.3: Typical spectrally unweighted spectra (left) in comparison to the
weighted (right) spectra by using the weighting functions Wd for x/y- axes and
Wk for the vertical components for seat vibrations (specified in the VDI 2057-2
and the ISO 2631-1).
For steering-wheel vibrations (Fig. 4.4) the co-ordinate system with the
x/y/z-axes is used. It differs a bit from the usual definition of the x/y/zdimensions (cartesian co-ordinate system) in a car. The x-direction points
toward the front into the direction of the steering column, the y-axis is
practically identical to the y-axis and points from right to left and the zaxis is orthogonal to the x- and y-axis and lies in the plane of the steeringwheel. Fig. 4.4 shows a typical example of averaged spectra in the x-, yand z-dimensions. The shown peak-trough structure can also be related to
the motor orders. The peaks at the second and the sixth motor order (!)
are clearly most prominent for nearly all presented spectra. The vibrations
in x-direction appear to be the strongest in nearly the whole considered
frequency range. An exception is the frequency range around the first order,
where the z-vibrations sometimes are stronger than those in x-direction.
The vibrations in z-direction reach the acceleration values in the x-direction
around the second order. There are considerable differences observable for
the spectra between different types of classes, as well as between diesel- and
petrol-engine cars.
Three clear differences between the seat and steering-wheel vibrations are
identifiable (Fig. 4.2 and 4.4):
1. the measured steering-wheel vibrations (accelerations) around the 2nd
motor order are higher than the seat vibrations.
2. the steering-wheel vibrations contain more energy at higher motor
orders - e.g., at 6th motor order - than the seat vibrations.
3. the magnitude distribution of the vibrations are varying in all three
directions for steering-wheel and the seat vibrations.
112
100
Petrol
10
Diesel
Acceleration [au]
0.1
xaxis
yasis
zaxis
100
10
1
0.1
100
10
1
0.1
4
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
6.3
10
16
25
40
63
100 160
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 4.4: Typical averaged spectra, like the spectra of the seat vibrations in
Fig. 4.2, for the steering-wheel vibrations of petrol (left) and diesel (right) model
in x-, y- and z-axes at the position wheel for different car types: upper middle
class (top), middle class (middle) and small class (bottom).
4.3
Subjective quality judgements
In an ordinary testing-session in the car industry, the professional subjectivetester gives his (dis-) comfort ratings of the sound and vibration quality in
idle running cars. The ratings are categorically assessed by using a fixed
10 point scale which is normally used in the car industry for quality assessments of sound and vibrations. The subjective-testers are familiarized with
this scale. The subjective quality judgements are presented in terms of categorical units [cu] which are different from the numbers of the scale used.
It turns out that just a limited portion of this scale is normally used for the
quality evaluations. However, the categorical units reflect the resolution of
the categories which are employed by the subjective-testers. Thereby high
subjective ratings indicate a good quality whereas low values denote a poor
quality.
4.4. Results of the correlation analysis
113
During a subjective testing-session the evaluation is performed for three

different stimuli: the booming noise, the seat and the steering-wheel vibrations. These three aspects are rated for three different conditions, therefore
nine subjective assessments for each car and for each tester with an aircondition, and six for cars without an air-condition are available for the
following analysis.
Two subjective-testers were available for tests in the small and the middle
class vehicles and one subjective-tester for the upper middle class vehicles.
The subjective-testers are professional highly trained subjects with a long
term experience. Both testers for small and middle class cars show almost
similar judgement behaviors which is confirmed with statistical tests. Therefore the subjective assessments are summarized together with the objective
parameters in the cases of the small and the middle class vehicles.
4.4
Results of the correlation analysis

between objective signal parameters and
subjective comfort assessments
The correlation coefficients r (Pearson) are determined for the description

of the relation between the subjective judgements and the objective (evaluation) signal parameters - unweighted and weighted vibration total values
a0V and aV , as well as z-accelerations az and awz - for seat or steering-wheel
vibrations. The statistically significant correlation coefficients rP for petrol
and rD for diesel models are marked with asterisks (*) according to the
level of significance4 . In addition a linear regression curve between the used
subjective and objective data is calculated and represented if the respective
correlation coefficient is statistically significant. For correlation analysis between the objective vibration parameters and the subjective ratings different
numbers of data pairs are used (Chapter 4.1). The analysis separated after
the different car classes enabled one to find objective parameters which are
global evaluation tools for the subjective quality assessments in cars.
First the correlation analysis is described for middle class vehicles in detail.
The findings for the objective description of the subjective judgements for
middle class vehicles are compared to the evaluation parameters which are
found for small and upper middle class vehicles thereafter. Additionally, a
statistical test points out that the correlation coefficients are improved for
a separate analysis of petrol- and diesel-engine cars. Therefore the results
4*
- 5%, ** - 1%, *** - 0.1% level of significance
114
of the correlation analysis are presented separately after petrol and diesel
cars. Parameters from existing standards and usual parameters from the car
industry are used for the correlation analysis.
4.4.1
Seat vibrations
Middle class cars

First the correlation analysis is realized between the subjective ratings and
the objective signal parameters spectrally unweighted and weighted z-acceleration (az and awz ) for seat vibrations of the middle class cars. The correlation coefficients are calculated separately after petrol nP = 36 and diesel
cars nD = 54. The relation between the subjective assessments and the
objective parameters, which are calculated in the whole frequency range
(B1 : 0 f 500 Hz), are shown in Fig. 4.5 for the measuring position
P3.
rP= 0.55**
nP=36
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.59***
n =36
P
Regression Petrol
Regression Petrol
r = 0.19
D
n =54
rD= 0.095
n =54
D
better
1 categorical unit [cu]
Diesel
Petrol
10
15
unweighted zAcceleration az [au]
20
2.5
7.5
10
12.5
unweighted zAcceleration awz [au]
Fig. 4.5: Relation between the spectrally unweighted z-accelerations az (left) and
the spectrally weighted z-accelerations awz (right) in the frequency band B1
(whole frequency range) of the driver seat, respectively, and the subjective ratings
for measuring position P3. Additionally, the correlation coefficients rP / rD and
the total number of data pairs nP / nD are presented.
The relation between the objective and subjective data is not statistically
significant for diesel cars (az : rD = 0.01 and awz : rD = 0.19) but
it is statistically significant for petrol cars (az : rP = 0.59 and awz :
rP = 0.55 ). The correlation coefficients are negative which means
that a higher rating indicates a better quality and less vibrations. The
results for spectrally unweighted z-acceleration az (left) and the spectrally
weighted z-acceleration awz (right) look very similar, except for the level
range. The reason for this is that the weighting function Wk exhibits a
115
low pass characteristic. Therefore just the higher frequency components are
decreased and the lower frequency components, especially around the 2nd
motor order dominate the objective parameter awz . The high correlation
coefficients for petrol cars are effected by just two objective parameters with
a high acceleration around 15 au. Therefore it is difficult to derive a general
tendency for petrol cars.
Furthermore, the spectra in Fig. 4.2 show that the vibrations in the horizontal plane are also as high as the components in the vertical axis. Therefore,
the relation between the objective parameters, which include the accelerations in all three directions, like the spectrally unweighted and weighted
vibration total values a0V and aV (after Eq. 4.2 and 4.1) and the subjective
ratings are presented in Fig. 4.6 for used petrol and the diesel models. The
vibration total values are calculated in the same frequency range as the
vertical (z-) accelerations in Fig. 4.5. The correlation coefficients between
the spectrally unweighted vibration total value a0V and the pertinent subjective ratings for seat vibrations are statistically high significant for petrol
and for diesel cars, rP = 0.78 and rD = 0.36 . Using the spectral weighting functions Wd and Wk , which are psychophysically motivated,
for the calculation of the rms accelerations for x- and y-directions and for
z-direction yields the relation between objective and subjective data of the
right figure. The correlation coefficient for the investigated petrol models is
significant, rP = 0.55 again, but not as high as the correlation coefficient
for the unweighted parameter a0V , rP = 0.78 . In comparison to this,
the clouds of points testify that no significant correlation exists between
the weighted vibration total value and the subjective rating for diesel models
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.78***
nP=36
rP= 0.55*
n =36
P
Regression Diesel
Regression Petrol
r = 0.36**
D
n =54
Regression Petrol
rD= 0.26
n =54
better
Diesel
Petrol
10
15
20
25
unweighted Vibration Total Value a V [au]
30
2.5
7.5
10
12.5
weighted Vibration Total Value a V [au]
Fig. 4.6: Relation between the spectrally unweighted and weighted vibration total
values a0V , a0V of the driver seat and the subjective ratings like in Fig. 4.5 for the
z-accelerations.
116
(rD = 0.26, Fig. 4.6). Furthermore, the data for spectrally weighted parameters awz and aV look very similar (Fig 4.5 and 4.6). The reason for this
is that the weighting function Wd decreases the horizontal accelerations (xand y- directions) more than the z- acceleration by using Wk , so that the
weighted parameter aV is dominated by the z-components and is similar to
the parameter awz (see also the weighted spectra in Fig. 4.3).
Fig.4.5 and 4.6 also exhibit a more general trend which applies to the other
investigated objective parameters. The correlation coefficients between the
subjective and the objective data increase when spectrally unweighted rms
acceleration parameters, which take into account accelerations of all three
(x/y/z) directions, are used. The calculated correlation coefficients between
the objective vibration parameters of the driver seat and the subjective ratings for nP = 36 and nD = 54 are summarized in Tab. 4.1. The analysis is carried out in the indicated frequency ranges of the seat vibrations
(columns). The four rows make the distinction between spectrally weighted
and unweighted parameters aV , awz , a0V and az .
The parameters (spectrally unweighted vibration total values) from broadband vibration signals correlate significantly with the subjective ratings of
the professional testers for petrol and diesel models. Similar high significant correlation coefficients deliver for parameters from a limited frequency
band between the 1st and 2nd motor order and around the 2nd motor
order (Fig. 4.7). The correlation coefficients show no significant tendencies with the subjective judgements for the calculated parameters around
higher motor orders (not presented in Tab. 4.1). The importance of vibration energy at lower frequency for the (dis-) comfort is supported by
Diesel
Petrol
Fig. 4.7: Same relations

as in Fig. 4.6 between the
subjective ratings and the
spectrally unweighted vibration total values a0V in
a narrow frequency range
from 10 to 35 Hz (B2 ).
rP= 0.69***
subj. Rating [cu]
n =36
P
Regression Diesel
Regression Petrol
r = 0.3*
D
better
n =54
D
10
15
20
unweighted Vibration Total Value aV [au]
25
117
Tab. 4.1: Correlation coefficients between subjective ratings for the driver seat
vibrations and spectrally weighted / unweighted vibration total values aV / a0V and
z-accelerations awz / az , respectively, at the position P3 for different frequency
ranges for middle class vehicles.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
petrol nP = 36 /
diesel nD = 54
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
unweighted vibration
total value a0V
-0.78
-0.36
-0.69
-0.30
-0.69
-0.26
***
**
***
***
weighted vibration
total value aV
-0.55
-0.26
-0.56
-0.25
-0.57
unweighted zacceleration az
-0.59
weighted zacceleration awz
-0.55
***
***
-0.09
***
***
-0.59
***
-0.13
***
-0.19
-0.55
***
-0.10
-0.60
-0.04
***
-0.21
-0.57
-0.05
***
the fact that parameters from the spectrally weighted and from the narrow
frequency band acceleration signals yield significant correlation coefficients
with the subjective parameters (of course with the exception of the high
frequency range from 35 to 100 Hz). In this context, it should be stated
that the weighting functions Wk and Wd exhibit low pass characteristics
and the weighting function Wd decreases the horizontal acceleration (xand y- direction) more than the z- acceleration by using Wk . However,
for the investigated cars, the horizontal accelerations reach the acceleration
values in z-direction, especially around the prominent 2nd motor order, for
diesel models and in higher motor order spectrum for petrol models. That is
the reason why the spectrally unweighted parameters give significant higher
correlation coefficients with the subjective ratings than spectrally weighted
parameters. These findings are tested in a correlation analysis which delivers nearly the same correlation coefficients by using only the horizontal
vibrations for the objective parameters.
118
The above summarized finding is a contradiction to a study carried out by

Bellmann et al. (2000b), but the spectra of the used cars in that study
show that the horizontal vibrations are more than a factor of 3 times lower
than the vertical seat vibrations. The results show that the horizontal vibrations are of decisive importance for subjective judgements of the present
cars. Additionally, the usage of objective signal parameters, which contain contributions of all three acceleration (x/y/z-) directions instead of
just one dimensional parameters (especially z-acceleration), provide higher
correlation coefficients. An analysis with diesel and petrol models separated
increases the correlation coefficients, as well. The various assessment behaviors (Fig. 4.5 to 4.7) of petrol and diesel models however are not explicable
just with spectral qualities or properties of the seat vibration signals.
The objective acceleration parameters have been calculated for four different
measuring points (P1 - P4). For the investigated type of car it turns out
that the correlation coefficients are always the highest for parameters of
the seat vibrations measured at the position P3 which is the contract area
between the vibrating seat surface and the human body. The measuring
position P4, which is at the backrest of the seat, yields nearly the same
correlation coefficients between the subjective and objective data.
In the ordinary, subjective assessments, which are given on a categorical
scale, correlate with logarithmic parameters, which is frequently reported
for measurements in psychoacoustics. It is just briefly noted that logarithmic objective parameters, which are based on the acceleration level (LV ib ),
deliver correlation coefficients which are nearly the same by using the (linear) acceleration a. This is verified in statistical tests. This result is not
surprising because the linear acceleration for used seat vibration signals do
not differ very much so that the differences in the (logarithmic) acceleration
level are not large, as well. Moreover, the correlation coefficients between
the weighted Vibration Dose Values and the subjective ratings are calculated even though the crest factors are below 6. The statistical test with
the VDV yields in any case lower correlations with the subjective judgements than with the objective rms parameters. This correlation coefficients
are not particularly significant but show the same tendencies as parameters
which are related to the energy (rms), as mention above. This finding is
also frequently reported in literature.
Upper middle class cars
For analysis of the seat vibrations of cars of the upper middle class nP = 9
for petrol and nD = 26 for diesel are available. One subjective-tester participated in the testing-sessions for the evaluation of the quality of booming
119
Diesel
Petrol
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.92***
nP=9
rP= 0.26
n =9
P
Regression Diesel
r = 0.07
D
n =26
Regression Diesel
rD= 0.55**
n =26
better
10
15
20
25
30
2.5
7.5
10
12.5
Fig. 4.8: The subjective ratings for seat vibrations of the driver seat are presented
as a function of the spectrally unweighted (left) and the weighted (right) vibration
total value a0V , a0V for upper middle class cars. The objective parameters are
calculated in the frequency range B1 and the measuring position was P1.
noise, as well as seat and steering-wheel vibrations. The same correlation

analysis between the subjective ratings and the different objective parameters for seat vibrations, like for middle class cars in Chapter 4.4.1, has
been carried out for the vehicles of upper middle class, as well. The relation between the subjective ratings and the spectrally unweighted and
weighted vibration total value - a0V and aV - for the whole frequency range
(B1 : 0 f 500 Hz) are shown in Fig. 4.8. The subjective ratings are
presented as a function of the same objective parameters as in Fig. 4.8 for
the narrow frequency band between the 1st and 2nd motor order in Fig. 4.9.
The seat vibration signals were measured at the measuring position P1
(back seat rail).
The relation between the spectrally unweighted vibration total values aV
which is calculated in the whole frequency range (B1 ) and the subjective
ratings is significant for petrol cars, rP = 0.92 , but it is not significant
for the diesel cars, rD = 0.07. The correlation increases for diesel cars if
the psychophysically motivated weighting functions are used for calculation
of the weighted vibration total values aV . The correlation coefficient is then
significant, rD = 0.55 . But the clouds of data for petrol cars show that
there is no correlation if the spectrally weighted vibration total value is used
instead of the unweighted parameter, rP = 0.07.
Both correlation coefficients for diesel and for petrol cars become statistically significant between the objective spectrally unweighted vibration total
values and the subjective ratings if just a limited frequency band from the
1st to the 2nd motor order is used for the calculation of the objective
120
subj. Rating [cu]
Diesel
Petrol
Regression Petrol
rP= 0.72*
nP=9
rP= 0.23
n =9
P
Regression Diesel
Regression Diesel
r = 0.65**
D
n =26
rD= 0.54*
n =26
better
10
15
20
25
10
15
20
Fig. 4.9: Relation between spectrally unweighted and weighted vibration total
values a0V , aV of the driver seat and the subjective ratings like in Fig. 4.8. The
narrow frequency range between the 1st and 2nd motor order is used for the
calculation of the objective parameters at the position P1.
parameter (Fig. 4.9). The correlation coefficients for the various spectrally
unweighted and weighted rms parameters are also calculated in different
frequency ranges and are summarized in Tab. 4.2.
The correlation analysis between the objective parameters and the subjective
ratings for seat vibrations of the upper middle class cars points out that the
energy at low frequencies, especially between the 1st and the prominent 2nd
motor order, is of paramount importance for subjective ratings. Additionally,
spectrally unweighted parameters deliver in any case for petrol cars and in
narrow band frequency ranges for diesel cars higher correlation coefficients
with the judgements than spectrally weighted parameters. The correlation
coefficients between the unweighted vibration total value calculated in the
narrow frequency range B2 and the subjective ratings for seat vibrations
are statistically significant, rP = 0.72 and rD = 0.65 (Tab. 4.2 and
Fig. 4.9). The measuring position P1 for seat vibrations delivers in any
case the highest correlations between the objective and subjective data.
The measuring position P2 (front left seat rail) delivers similar results.
The reason why the objective parameters, which are calculated form the
vibration signals recorded at the contact area between the human and the
seat, do not deliver the highest correlation coefficients with the subjective
ratings is not really clear. A possible reason probably is that the measuring
position P3 for vibrations at the contact area is not the right one on the
used car seat for recording the adequate seat vibrations.
The findings of the analysis of the seat vibrations for upper middle class
vehicles are similar to the results of the correlation analysis for middle class
vehicles (Chapter 4.4.1). However, the correlation coefficients are based
121
Tab. 4.2: Correlation coefficients between subjective ratings and different objective parameters for driver seat vibrations for upper middle class vehicles like in
Tab. 4.1 for middle class cars. The measuring position is P1.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
petrol nP = 9 /
diesel nD = 26
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
total value a0V
-0.92
-0.07
-0.72
-0.65
-0.65
-0.64
***
weighted vibration
total value aV
-0.26
-0.23
-0.54
-0.41
raggedright weighted
z- acceleration awz
-0.21
***
-0.55
**
-0.52
**
-0.22
**
-0.27
**
-0.53
***
-0.52
**
-0.27
**
-0.18
-0.53
**
-0.54
-0.52
**
-0.18
-0.53
**
on different measuring positions for seat vibrations in different car types,

probably due to the used car seat with different seat rails.
Small class cars
Two subjective-testers assisted for the testing-sessions in the small car class.
But their judgement of both testers differ in this case significant which is
confirmed in a statistical test. The reasons for differences in the assessments
behavior of the quality of the seat vibrations are probably influenced by the
fact that the production run of these cars were new. Furthermore, the testers
are not highly trained and are not familiar with the assessments of the seat
vibrations of the tested cars of this type. For these reasons, the results of
just one subjective tester, who delivers the highest correlations, are shown
in the following analysis. A second difference to the analysis of the other car
classes is that the optimal measuring position of the seat vibrations depends
on the engine type so that the position P1 is used to present the results
122
subj. Rating [cu]
Regression Diesel
better
nD=22
r = 0.093
10
15
20
25
rD= 0.73***
n =22
Diesel
Petrol
rP= 0.79***
n =21
Regression Petrol
rP= 0.31
nP=21
30
2.5
7.5
10
12.5
Fig. 4.10: Relation between spectrally unweighted (left) and weighted (right)
vibration total values a0V , a0V of the driver seat and the subjective ratings for
small class cars in the whole frequency range. The presented data are from one
subjective-tester and the measuring position was P3 for petrol and P1 for diesel
cars.
for diesel-engine cars and P3 is used for petrol cars.

The number of subjective and objective data pairs are nP = 21 for the
petrol and nD = 22 for diesel cars because the data of just one tester are
used. The 16 different spectrally weighted signal parameters are calculated
for seat vibrations like for middle and upper middle class cars, as well. The
subjective ratings for seat vibrations are given as a function of the spectrally
unweighted and weighting vibration total values in Fig. 4.10 for the whole
frequency range (B1 ). The clouds of data pairs for unweighted parameters
testify that there are no correlations between the subjective and objective
data. The correlation coefficients are not statistically significant for the
petrol and for diesel cars, rP = 0.31 and rD = 0.09. The relation
between the subjective ratings and the spectrally weighted vibration total
values aV increase by the application of the psychophysically motivated
weighting functions Wk and Wd (Fig.4.10 left). The correlation coefficients
become statistically significant, rP = 0.79 and rD = 0.73 . Almost
the same correlation coefficients rP and rD result if the spectrally weighted
parameters are calculated in a narrow frequency range around the prominent
2nd motor order and between the 1st and the 2nd motor order (Fig. 4.11 and
Tab. 4.3). Additionally, the correlation coefficient for diesel cars is significant
for the unweighted parameter in the narrow frequency band B2 .
The correlation coefficients between all the calculated objective parameters
in different narrow and broad frequency bands and the appendant subjective
judgements of the seat vibrations are listed in Tab. 4.3. The results point
out that the energy at low frequencies between the 1st and the 2nd mo-
123
subj. Rating [cu]
Diesel
Petrol
Regression Diesel
Regression Diesel
rP= 0.27
nP=21
rP= 0.62**
n =21
P
Regression Petrol
rD= 0.73***
n =22
D
nD=22
r = 0.72***
better
10
15
20
25
10
15
20
Fig. 4.11: The subjective ratings for the seat vibrations in the small class cars
are presented as a function of the spectrally unweighted and weighted vibration
total values a0V , aV , like in Fig. 4.10. The narrow frequency range around the 1st
and 2nd motor order is used for the calculation of the objective parameters at the
position P3 for petrol and P1 for diesel cars.
tor order are very important for the subjective ratings again. This finding
is similar to the results of the other car classes. But the summarized results show some more general tendencies for the small class cars: first, the
vibrations in the vertical direction (z-acceleration) influence the subjective
quality judgements more than the vibrations in the horizontal plane for this
type of car. The correlation coefficients for the weighted z-accelerations awz
are nearly equal with the correlation coefficients for the weighted vibration
total values aV and are higher for the unweighted parameters (Tab. 4.3).
This finding is explicable with the presented spectra of the seat vibrations
in Fig. 4.2. The vertical vibrations in this car type dominate the whole
frequency range, especially around the 2nd motor order, so that the vibrations in the horizontal plane are not perceptible or are probably masked
by the vertical components. The calculated parameter aV by application
of the spectral weighting functions deliver similar correlation coefficients as
spectrally unweighted parameter for diesel models and higher correlations for
petrol models with the subjective ratings because the weighting function Wd
decreases the horizontal accelerations (x- and y- direction) more than the
z- acceleration by using Wk . Therefore the vertical vibrations provide the
highest components for the spectrally weighted vibration total value. Additionally, the weighting functions exhibit low pass characteristics. Therefore
the vertical vibrations at low frequencies are more accentuated than the
horizontal vibrations. Furthermore, the objective parameters for the dieselengine cars are significantly higher than the data for the petrol-engine cars
even though nearly a similar part of the subjective rating scale is used.
124
Tab. 4.3: Correlation coefficients between the subjective ratings for driver seat
vibrations and the spectrally weighted / unweighted vibration total values aV /
a0V and z-accelerations awz / az for small class cars, respectively. The correlation
coefficients are for the data of one subjective tester measured at the position P1
for diesel cars and at P3 for petrol cars.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
petrol nP = 21 /
diesel nD = 22
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
total value a0V
-0.31
-0.09
-0.27
-0.72
-0.15
-0.70
weighted vibration
total value aV
-0.79
-0.73
-0.62
-0.73
***
***
**
***
-0.59
-0.62
-0.48
-0.73
**
**
***
weighted zacceleration awz
-0.79
-0.73
-0.63
-0.73
***
***
**
***
***
***
-0.30
-0.73
***
-0.35
-0.73
***
-0.36
-0.73
***
The analysis of the seat vibrations of the small class cars show that if the
vibrations in one direction are expressed clearly the spectra the subjective
ratings are influenced by these components. Additionally, the judgement
behavior of the two professional subjective-tester are particularly significantly
different probably due to the fact that the testers are not familiar with the
new type of car class. Therefore professional testers who are specialized for
some car types are maybe necessary for the evaluation of subjective quality
of seat vibrations.
4.4.2
Steering-wheel vibrations
Two different types of spectral weighting functions are used for the analysis of the steering-wheel vibrations. First, the accelerations in all three
directions are spectrally weighted with the same weighting function Wh ,
125
which is defined in ISO 5349-1 for hand-arm transmitted vibrations, and are
combined with the weighted vibration total value aV thereafter. It is just
briefly noted that the weighting function Wh exhibit a low pass characteristic
and that is why the low frequency components are more accentuated than
the higher frequency components. A second kind of weighting functions is
used for the evaluation of the steering-wheel vibrations in this study. The
weighting functions Wk and Wd for the evaluation of whole-body vibrations
are used for hand-arm vibrations, as well: Wd for horizontal vibrations and
Wk for vertical vibrations. The weighted and unweighted parameters are
calculated in five different frequency ranges. Therefore 15 different objective parameters are correlated with the subjective ratings in the following
analysis.
Middle class cars
The relations between nP = 36 (petrol) and nD = 54 (diesel) spectrally
unweighted vibration total values a0V in the frequency band B1 (whole
frequency range) and the subjective ratings for steering-wheel are presented
in Fig. 4.12. The quality of the steering-wheel vibrations are judged by
two testers who indicate a similar assessment behavior. The unweighted
vibration total value a0V is calculated according to Eq. 4.2 by the application
of the weighting function Wh . The distribution of data shows that there is
a correlation between this objective parameter and the subjective rating for
petrol but not for diesel models. The correlation coefficient is significant
for petrol models rP = 0.82 and not significant for diesel models rD =
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.82***
nP=36
rP= 0.83***
nP=36
Regression Diesel
Regression Petrol
r = 0.26
D
n =54
Regression Petrol
better
Diesel
Petrol
50
100
r = 0.39**
D
n =54
150
200
250
300
25
50
75
100 125 150 175 200
Fig. 4.12: Relation between spectrally unweighted and weighted (with Wh ) vibration total values a0V , aV in the frequency band: B1 and the subjective ratings
of the steering-wheel vibrations. Additionally, the correlation coefficient rP / rD
and the total number of data pairs are shown.
126
0.26.
The correlation can be improved by applying the weighting function Wh
for the calculation of the rms accelerations for all three directions for diesel
cars. The altered relations between objective and subjective data are shown
in Fig. 4.12. The correlation coefficient is almost the same for petrol models, rP = 0.83 , and becomes significant with rD = 0.39 for the
diesel models. The spectrally unweighted and weighted vibration total values a0V and aV for the frequency bands - B1 , B2 , B3 , B4 and B5
- are calculated and correlated with the subjective data. In addition the
unweighted and weighted vibration total value a0V and aV are calculated for
the frequency band B5 [73 < f < 100 Hz] since the 6th motor order is a
prominent component in the spectrum of the steering-wheel vibrations in xdirection (Fig. 4.4). Tab. 4.4 gives an overview of the correlation coefficients
rP and rD for parameters of different frequency bands.
The correlation coefficients between the subjective assessments and the
objective parameters for steering-wheel vibrations increase by using the
weighted vibration total values aV - weighted with whole-body vibration
weighting functions Wd and Wk - in contrast to the spectrally unweighted
parameter a0V according to prior findings and other studies (e.g., Bellmann et
al., 2000b). This result indicates that the frequency energy in the steeringwheel vibration signals is important for the subjective (comfort-) ratings
for steering-wheel vibrations. Hence the correlation coefficients increase
by using psychophysically motivated weighting functions, which have a low
pass characteristic, and increase or are similar if just a narrow band limited frequency range around the 2nd motor order is used for calculating the
Diesel
Petrol
subj. Rating [cu]
Regression Petrol
Regression Diesel
Regression Diesel
r = 0.79***
P
nP=36
better
Regression Petrol
nD=54
r = 0.42**
r = 0.83***
P
nP=36
r = 0.42**
D
n =54
50
100
150
200
250
300
25
50
75
100 125 150 175 200
Fig. 4.13: Same relations than in Fig.4.12, but with spectrally unweighted and
weighted vibration total values a0V and aV (with Wh after ISO 5349-1/2) which
are calculated in a limited frequency range around the 2nd motor order (B3 ).
127
objective parameters (Fig. 4.13).

However, the correlation coefficients rP and rD for higher frequency bands
B4 and B5 also show some significant correlations between the subjective ratings and the objective parameters (Tab. 4.4). This finding is in
contrast with a similar study (e.g., Bellmann et al., 2000b), and the reasons
are not yet clear.
A possible conclusion from these results is that the judgement behaviors
for steering-wheel vibrations are highly influenced by spectral properties of
the vibration signals. The vibration signals in the vertical direction (z-axis)
and x-axis are highly correlated with each other which is confirmed in a
statistical test. Additionally, these two components are of equal paramount
importance for the quality assessments of the steering-wheel vibrations. A
separated correlation analysis between the x- or z-acceleration and the
subjective ratings deliver nearly the same correlation coefficients. Furthermore, the frequency band around the 2nd motor order is very important
for subjective assessments of steering-wheel vibrations. Moreover, the correlation coefficients between the objective and subjective data increase by
using the spectrally weighted vibration total value aV with psychophysically
motivated weighting functions for hand-arm Wh and whole-body vibrations
Wd and Wk (specified in, e.g., ISO 2631-1, VDI 2057-2 and ISO 5349-1).
Upper middle class cars
Just one subjective-tester participated for the testing-sessions in the upper
middle class cars . Therefore nP = 9 and nD = 26 objective and subjective
data are applicable for the following correlation analysis like in Chapter 4.4.1
for seat vibrations. The subjective ratings for steering-wheel vibrations are
figured as a function of the spectrally unweighted and weighted vibration
total values in the frequency band B1 in Fig. 4.14.
The results for upper middle class cars are similar to the findings of the middle class cars. The correlation coefficients are significant for petrol and diesel
cars by using the unweighted parameter a0V , rP = 0.67 and rD = 0.47 .
This correlations can be slightly improved by applying the weighting function Wh for the calculation of the rms accelerations for all three directions.
Additionally, the correlation coefficients between the subjective assessments
and the objective parameter for steering-wheel vibrations also increase when
using the vibration total values aV , weighted with whole-body vibration
weighting functions Wd and Wk , in contrast to the spectrally weighted
parameter aV with Wh and the unweighted parameter a0V . The correlations
coefficients are statistically significant rP = 0.74 and rD = 0.56 for
128
Tab. 4.4: Correlation coefficients rP and rD between the subjective assessments

and the objective parameters - spectrally weighted (with hand-arm and wholebody vibration weighting functions Wh , Wd and Wk ) and unweighted vibration
total value aV and a0V - for steering-wheel vibrations of middle class cars.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
35-100 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
4th - 6th MO
petrol nP = 36 /
diesel nD = 54
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
unweighted vibration total value a0V
-0.82
-0.26
-0.79
-0.42
-0.79
-0.42
-0.80
-0.12
***
**
***
**
***
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wd and
Wk )
-0.81
-0.46
-0.81
-0.46
-0.81
-0.45
-0.68
-0.45
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
***
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wh )
-0.83
-0.39
-0.83
-0.42
-0.83
-0.42
-0.81
-0.05
***
**
***
**
***
**
***
***
weighted vibration total values with whole-body vibration weighting functions (Fig. 4.14 right). These findings indicate that the vertical vibrations
Diesel
Petrol
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.67*
nP=9
rD= 0.47*
n =26
D
Regression Diesel
Regression Diesel
Regression Petrol
better
Regression Petrol
r = 0.74*
P
nP=9
r = 0.56**
D
n =26
D
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

25
50
75
100 125 150 175 200
Fig. 4.14: Relation between spectrally unweighted and weighted (with Wd and
Wk for whole-body vibrations after VDI 2057-2 and ISO 2631-1) vibration total
values a0V , aV in the frequency band: B1 of the steering-wheel vibrations and
subjective ratings for upper middle class cars.
129
Diesel
Petrol
subj. Rating [cu]
rP= 0.65
nP=9
rD= 0.39*
n =26
D
Regression Diesel
Regression Diesel
Regression Petrol
better
rP= 0.74*
nP=9
rD= 0.5**
n =26
D
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
25
50
75
100 125 150 175 200
Fig. 4.15: Same relations as in Fig.4.14, but with spectrally weighted vibration
total value aV (with Wk and Wd ) in a frequency range from 20 to 35 Hz.
for steering-wheel vibrations are more important for the judgements than
the horizontal vibrations for this car class. Since the whole-body vibration
weighting functions decrease the horizontal vibrations more by application of
total value a0V and aV - for steering-wheel vibrations of the upper middle class
cars.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
35-100 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
4th - 6th MO
petrol nP = 9 /
diesel nD = 26
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
D
rD
-0.67
-0.47
-0.65
-0.40
-0.65
-0.39
-0.96
-0.29
***
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wd and
Wk )
-0.74
-0.56
-0.74
-0.50
-0.74
-0.50
-0.67
**
**
**
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wh )
-0.67
-0.50
-0.65
-0.45
-0.65
-0.45
-0.9
**
***
-0.01
-0.08
130
Wd than the vertical components with Wk instead of the weighting function

Wh for hand-arm transmitted vibrations (Fig. A.1 in Appendix A). Additionally, spectrally weighted parameters, which are determined in the narrow
frequency bands around the prominent 2nd motor order (B3 ), correlate
significantly with the subjective ratings, rP = 0.74 and rD = 0.50
(Fig. 4.15). Thence the energy at low frequencies is also important for
the subjective assessments. The correlation coefficients between all calculated unweighted and weighted parameters and the assessments are listed
for different frequency ranges in Tab. 4.5.
The spectrally weighted and unweighted parameters in the higher frequency
ranges (B4 and B5 ) correlate with the subjective ratings for petrol cars
but does not for diesel cars. However, the significant correlation coefficient
for the unweighted vibration total value aV for petrol cars is affected by
objective values of just one car which implies very high energy components
at higher frequencies. Additionally, the small number of data pairs has to
be considered. Therefore, just the weighted parameters in broad and narrow
frequency regions are probably adequate parameters for the description of
the quality of steering-wheel vibrations for petrol cars.
Small class cars
subj. Rating [cu]
Each small class car was rated by two testers, thence nP = 42 and nD = 44
objective and subjective data are utilizable for the following analysis. The
judgement of the two testers are similar which is confirmed with statistical
tests. This contradicts the judgements of these two testers for the quality of
Regression Petrol
Regression Petrol
r = 0.44**
P
nP=42
nD=44
r = 0.062
better
50
100
150
200
250
r = 0.068
D
n =44
Diesel
Petrol
300
r = 0.44**
P
nP=42
25
50
75
100 125 150 175 200
Fig. 4.16: Relation between the spectrally unweighted and weighted (with Wh )
vibration total values a0V , aV in the frequency band: B1 , respectively, and the
subjective ratings of the steering-wheel vibrations for small class cars.
131
seat vibrations. The relation between the spectrally unweighted / weighted

parameter (with the spectral weighting function Wh for hand-arm vibrations)
and the subjective assessments for steering-wheel vibrations are shown in
Fig. 4.16. The objective parameters are calculated from the accelerations
of the whole frequency range (B1 ).
The clouds of data for diesel cars testify that there is no correlation between
the subjective ratings and the spectrally unweighted vibration total value,
rD = 0.06. It is not possible to improve the correlation coefficient for diesel
cars by using a psychophysically motivated spectrally weighted parameter
with weighting function Wh , rD = 0.07 or Wk and Wd , rD = 0.08.
In contrast to that the correlation coefficient between the ratings and the
unweighted vibration total values is statistically significant for petrol cars,
rP = 0.44 . But the diagram of the data (Fig. 4.16) shows that the
significant correlation coefficient is caused by data of just one car (in three
different conditions, n= 3) which has very high accelerations for steeringwheel around 75 au. Therefore it is doubtful if the calculated parameters
for steering-wheel vibrations really yield a good description of the subjective
judgements for petrol cars because no significant correlations are given if
total value a0V and aV - for steering-wheel vibrations of the small class cars.
Frequency range
0-500 Hz
10-35 Hz
20-35 Hz
35-100 Hz
Motor order (MO)
whole range
1st - 2nd MO
2nd MO
4th - 6th MO
petrol nP = 42 /
diesel nD = 44
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
rP
rD
-0.44
-0.06
-0.44
-0.07
-0.43
-0.07
-0.42
-0.03
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wd and
Wk )
-0.40
weighted vibration
total value aV
(with Wh )
-0.44
**
**
-0.08
**
**
-0.40
**
-0.08
**
-0.07
-0.43
**
-0.40
**
-0.08
-0.06
-0.04
-0.07
-0.40
-0.01
**
-0.07
-0.42
**
**
132
a statistical test is conducted without the three data pairs (around 75 au).
An application of the spectrally weighted vibration total values instead of
the unweighted parameters deliver similar results (Fig. 4.16).
The correlation coefficients between the spectrally unweighted and weighted
parameters in various broadband and narrow band frequency ranges and
the subjective ratings are summarized in Tab. 4.6. The results show two
general tendencies: firstly the correlation coefficients are almost unchanged
if the objective parameters are calculated in different narrow frequency bands
instead of the whole spectra (B1 ) and secondly the usage of spectral
weighting functions for the determination of the objective parameters does
not have any influence on the correlations with the subjective ratings. An
additional correlation analysis of the relation between the subjective and
objective data for petrol and diesel cars, separated after each subjective
testers, verifies the previous assumptions.
There are no significant correlations between the presented spectrally unweighted and weighted parameters and the judgements for diesel cars. Furthermore, the relations for the petrol cars are affected by data pairs of
just one car with very high accelerations. Therefore the relation between
the calculated objective parameters and the subjective ratings is doubtful.
These findings are supported by the supposition that professional subjective
testers, who are familiar with the car type and know the series variance, are
needed for the evaluation of the subjective discomfort caused by vibrations
in vehicles. The description of the subjective assessments of the seat vibrations in the same car class with objective parameters verify the hypothesis
(Chapter 4.4.1).
4.5
Discussion
The quality of seat and steering-wheel vibrations are judged by one or two
professional testers for different classes of cars (small, middle and lifted
middle class) in three different conditions in idle running. All used cars
have 4-cylinder engines. Each car class was analyzed separately. Vibration
signals are picked up at four different position on and at the driver seat, as
well as at one position for steering-wheel simultaneously with the subjective
ratings of the testers. The objectives are to identify parameters for seat and
steering-wheel vibrations which correlate significantly with the subjective
ratings and consequently describe the subjective vibration discomfort caused
by vibrations.
The results can be summarized as follows: horizontal vibrations are equally
important for the subjective comfort ratings of the seat vibrations as the
4.5. Discussion
133
vertical vibrations (z-axis) for the investigated cars. In particular, if the

vibration components in all three directions (x/y/z-axes) have nearly the
same magnitudes, especially around the 2nd motor order. This finding
verifies results from the literature (Bellmann et al., 2000b). That is the
reason why a psychophysically motivated spectral weighting after the ISO
2631-1/2 or VDI 2057-2 does not give as high correlation coefficients as
spectrally unweighted parameters a0V with the subjective ratings. Furthermore, the vibration energy in the low frequency region between the 1st and
2nd motor order, especially around the prominent 2nd motor order, contributes to the quality assessments of the seat and steering-wheel vibrations
significantly. The energy in higher frequency bands does not correlate with
the subjective ratings for seat vibrations. Additionally, the energy of the
prominent 6th order correlate significantly with the subjective assessments
for the steering-wheel vibrations sometimes. The optimal measuring position for seat vibrations depends on the car class and used car seat but not
always from the engine-type.
Moreover, the vibration total value aV , calculated with the weighted steeringwheel vibration signals (with Wh or Wd and Wk ), yields in any case and
for nearly all classes higher (diesel cars) or similar (petrol cars) correlation
coefficients between the objective parameter and the subjective comfort assessments than the unweighted vibration total value a0V . Seat and steeringwheel vibration parameters, which take into account accelerations of all
three (x/y/z) directions, deliver higher correlation coefficients with the subjective assessments than parameters which include accelerations from just
one direction (e.g., z-acceleration az or awz ).
A separate analysis of petrol and diesel models improve the correlation coefficients. In this study objective parameters are calculated from the vibration
recordings which just include spectral properties of the seat and steeringwheel vibrations. The different judgement behaviors of petrol and diesel cars
- with nearly the same value of the objective parameter diesel cars obtain
better subjective ratings than the petrol cars - are not exclusively explained
with changes of the spectral parameters for the steering-wheel and seat
vibrations.
The cars from the small class were a new production run so that the subjective ratings of the two testers for steering-wheel vibrations do not probably correlate with the objective spectral parameters. Additionally, the two
testers show different judgements for seat vibrations. Therefore a hypothesis can be stated that professional testers are needed who are familiar and
know the series variance of the tested cars to receive constant and concurrent subjective assessments of the seat and steering-wheel vibrations.
Chapter 5
Psychophysical measurements
on the perception of vertical
seat vibrations on a car seat
In Chapter 4 the subjective (dis-) comfort caused by the seat vibrations
were rated by subjective-testers in idle running cars. The used vibration
parameters in the last chapter showed that the subjective ratings are influenced by the level (acceleration) of the seat vibrations. In detail, the rating
decreases with increasing vibration parameter. It would be very advantageous to know the properties of the vibration signals which are fundamental
for detailed subjective quality assessments. Therefore basic psychophysical measurements on the perception of vertical whole-body vibrations are
conducted on a real car seat according to findings in basic experiments
(Chapter 3) and for applications in cars (Chapter 4). The focus lies on two
aspects: first, which influence has the level of the seat vibrations and the
simultaneously heard booming noise on the subjective rating ? And second,
is it possible to explain the slightly different judgement behaviors of different
subjective-testers by using individual parameters like perception threshold,
just noticeable differences in level, etc. for the perception of seat vibrations
on a real car seat ?
It is just possible to investigate the influence of the level of the seat vibrations
and the booming noise on the subjective ratings of the seat vibrations in
a laboratory because it is difficult or impossible to change systematically
those parameters in a real car. Additionally, it is not really clear what kind
of influence a cushioned seat has on basic experiments of the perception
of whole-body vibrations. Therefore psychophysical measurements on the
5.1. Measurement set-up
135
perception of synthetically sinusoidal and real broadband (recorded in cars)

seat vibration signals are conducted on a real car seat. Normally different
types of car seats must be used to investigate the influence of different seat
properties on the perception of vibration. In this study just one car seat is
used which is the same seat type as in the measured cars (middle class) in
Chapter 4.4.1. First perception thresholds and just noticeable differences in
level are repeated for synthetically sinusoidal signals on a real (cushioned)
car seat according to Chapter 3 with subjects from the car industry (some of
them are professional subjective-testers). Following, seat vibrations (which
are recorded in real cars) are varied in level to investigate the influence
of the level of the seat vibrations on the subjective comfort assessment.
Additionally, the influence of the booming noise on the subjective ratings of
the seat vibrations are investigated thereafter.
An excitation in just vertical direction is used in the following experiments
because the vertical component (especially around the 2nd motor order) is
usually the prominent vibration component in idle running cars. Moreover,
the human body is more sensitive to vibrations in the vertical direction
than in the horizontal plane for whole-body vibrations according to existing
standards (e.g., ISO 2631-2, 1989; VDI 2057-2, 1987). Finally, it is easier
to control vertical vibrations than horizontal vibrations on a simulator in
the laboratory. The conducted psychophysical measurements are in detail:
Experiment
Experiment
Experiment
Experiment
5.1
1
2
3
4
:
:
:
:
Perception thresholds at 16 and 31.5 Hz

Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL) at 31.5 Hz
Influence of the level on the seat vibration assessments
Influence of booming noise on the subjective seat
vibration ratings
Measurement set-up
Experimental set-up
Whole-body vibrations are produced by using the Sound & Vibration Rec (see Chapter 2.2). This system is optimized for the
production System
realistic reproduction of recorded interior noise and vibrations of vehicles.
Only the so-called vibration-pad system which produces whole-body vibrations in all three axes (Chapter 2.2) is used for the production of vertical
whole-body vibrations for these measurements. On this system a real car
seat is mounted, see Fig. 5.1. The audible components during the experi-
136
Chapter 5. Psychophysical measurements on a car seat
Fig. 5.1:
Schematic
view of the vibration-pad
which is used for the investigation of human perception of vertical wholebody vibrations on a real
car seat.
ments are reproduced by closed headphones (HDA 200 from Sennheiser) if

necessary. The experiments are conducted in a room with sound absorbing
materials on the walls. In this room a background noise of L = 42 dB(A)
was measured. It is possible to reduce the background noise to a level of
L = 31 dB(A) by wearing the closed headphones. With those headphones
the reproduction of low frequency components of the booming noise with a
subwoofer is not necessary.
The vibro-acoustic signals for the measurements are reproduced by an IBM
compatible computer with the aid of a SQLab II system from HEAD acoustics and the software packages ArtemiS 3.01.100 or an AFC package for
Matlab1 . The control-diagram of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction
c is figured in Fig. B.2. The parametric equalizers of the Sony
System
TA-E 2000 ESD Digital Processing Control Pre-Amplifier are used to linearize the transfer-function of the vibration-pad for this experiment. Hence
broadband seat vibration signals can be reproduced in a frequency range
from 10 to 100 Hz, as well. A picture of the used measurement set-up is
given in Fig. 5.2.
The vibration-pad is calibrated for each volunteer individually at the beginning and at the end of each measurement session. Signals for the calibration
are sinusoidal vertical vibrations with f = 16 and 31.5 Hz according to the
dominance of the 1st and 2nd motor order in the recorded spectra (Chapter 4) and for the subjective ratings of the quality of seat vibration. The
reproduced whole-body vibrations are controlled at four different position at
the seat. The measuring positions are as follows (see Fig.5.1, too):
Vibration acceleration a at the right back rail of the driver seat referred to as position P1- (PCB 356A15 accelerometer, triaxial).
1 The
c
AFC-package is developed at the University of Oldenburg, Stephan
Ewert
5.1. Measurement set-up
137
Fig. 5.2:
Picture of
the measurement set-up
(vibration-pad
including
control sequence) for the
psychophysical measurements
on a real car seat.
Vibration acceleration a at the left front rail of the driver seat - referred
to as position P2- (PCB 356A15 accelerometer, triaxial).
Vibration acceleration a on the driver seat - referred to as position P3- (accelerometer cushion MMF KB103SV sometimes called
SAE-pad , triaxial).
Vibration acceleration a at the floor of the vibration-pad between the
feet of the volunteers - referred to as position P4 - (PCB 356A15
accelerometer, triaxial).
The measuring positions P1 to P3 are specified for experiments on real car
seats in a laboratory in ISO 10326-1 (1992), see Fig. A.3 in Appendix A.
These positions are the same positions used during the test-sessions in a
real car (see Chapter 4.2). The transduced vibrations on different positions
into the human body are manageable and reproducible with the individual
calibration parameters. Thence each subject feels more or less the same
vibrations on the vibration-pad and the experiments can be reproduced under
constant and repeatable conditions. Additionally, it is not only possible to
produce sinusoidal vibration signals but also broadband vibration signals in
the frequency range from 10 to 100 Hz in an adequate fashion.
Stimuli
For the first two experiments, perception thresholds and just noticeable level
differences are measured with sinusoidal vibration stimuli with frequencies
of 16 and 31.5 Hz. These frequencies are used because of the dominance of
the 1st and 2nd motor order in the spectra of seat vibrations measured in
idle running cars (Chapter 4.2). The exposure times of the vibration signals
are 1 s which are separated by a break of 500 ms. Hanning time-windows
are used with a duration of 10% of the stimulus duration for a soft closure
138
c
and break. All synthetic stimuli are produced by using an AFC-package
for Matlab. For the third and fourth experiment seat vibration signals are
reproduced which are recorded in real cars from the middle class (see Chapter 4.1). The audible stimulus is a pink noise (30 < f < 10, 000 Hz) with
a level of L = 66 dB(A) or real booming noise signals measured simultaneously in cars in idle running condition with the vibration signals. The
exact measurement designs are summarized in the following subsections.
5.2
Subjects
All subjects are healthy volunteers (aged between 24 and 45 years) and are
members of one company from the car industry. The number of subjects
varies between 4 and 16 for the different experiments. The specific numbers
of the participants are summarized in Tab. 5.1 for each experiment. Four
professional subjective-tester from the car industry with long term experience
participated consistently in all four experiments and they can be referred to
as highly trained subjects. Two of the testers participated in the subjective
testing-session of the subjective (dis-) comfort inside cars caused by seat
and steering-wheel vibrations (Chapter 4). The other participants are untrained subjects who are not familiar with the subjective testing-session in
real cars. Anthropometric data are measured, like body-size and weight,
of each subjects. The Body Mass Index BMI (Kg/m2 ) and the Rohrer
Tab. 5.1: Number of subjects separated by the different experiments.
Experiment
No.
No. of subjects
(No. of professional testers)
Gender
(male / female)
Experiment 1
16 (4 Tester)
15 / 1
Experiment 2
15 (4 Tester)
15 / 0
Experiment 3
14 (4 Tester)
13 / 1
Experiment 4
4 (4 Tester)
4/0
5.2. Subjects
139
Index RI (Kg/m3 ) are calculated from the measured data (after Eq. 3.1
and Eq. 3.2; adapted from Garrow & Webster, 1985, see also Chapter 3.2).
All personal (exogenous and endogenous) data are summarized in Tab. 5.2
separated for the four subjective-testers and the other participants.
All experiments are conducted for seated subjects on a real car seat. The
posture of the subjects is normal and preferably comfortable on the seat:
feet on the rigid floor of the vibration-pad and with an upstanding upper
part of the body which is leaning on the backrest (Fig 5.2). During the
measurements the posture is not controlled but the subjects had the order
not to change their position during the experiments.
There are no significant differences in the mean and standard deviations
between the data of the four subjective-testers and the set of the other
subjects. These two groups can be separated into trained and untrained
subjects.
In the following experiments, the results of both subject groups (trained and
untrained) are regarded to investigate the differences between trained and
untrained subjects. Additionally, it is investigated whether the subjectiveTab. 5.2: Anthropometric and other personal (exogenous and endogenous) data
of the subjects.
untrained subjects
trained subjects (testers)
Parameter
Mean
Median
Mean
Median
age [a]
31.2 7.2
30.0
35.3 4.9
36.0
body-size [cm]
178.7 7.3
180.0
178.8 4.7
179.0
weight [Kg]
75.7 10.6
77.6
79.0 9.9
78.0
BMI [Kg/m2 ]
23.6 2.5
23.5
24.7 3.1
24.1
RI [Kg/m3 ]
13.2 1.4
13.1
13.9 1.8
13.7
140
testers are able to reflect the perception and the subjective judgement behavior of a large number of untrained subjects which are the potential customers
(car drivers) for the car industry. The vibration parameters are represented
as averaged rms-values after existing standards (ISO 2631-1 and VDI 20572). The vibration parameters in experiment 3 and 4 are given in arbitrary
units [au] like in Chapter 4.
5.3
Experiment 1: Perception thresholds
The perception thresholds are determined with an adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up

- 2 down measuring method (70.7% point of the psychometric function,
Chapter 1.2.1 and 3.3). The initial step-size is 8 dB and is halved after
each upper reversal to an ending step-size of 1 dB (Chapter 1.2.2). The
test-frequencies are 16 and 31.5 Hz according to the prominent 1st and
2nd motor order of a 4-cylinder engine. The measurement is conducted in
two different conditions for each subject: the first condition is without an
additional audible stimulus (quasi in silence with a background noise of
L = 31 dB(A), referred to as silent condition) and the second condition
is with an additional acoustic stimulus2 . A synthetic pink noise is used
because the frequency-characteristic of a real booming-noise is similar. The
results for the condition silent condition is marked with opened symbols
whereas closed symbols signify the data for the condition with noise in
the next figures. 16 different subjects participated in these measurements
with one repetition for each condition per subject. Just one repetition is
made because the results of Chapter 3.5 show that there are no learning
effects or anything else. The order of the conditions, as well as the order
of the test-frequencies is randomized to prohibit order effects. The effect
of an audible stimulus on the perception threshold can be investigated with
these measurements. Additionally, differences between the subjective-testers
(circles) and the untrained subjects (squares) are analyzed. The mean of
the last four reversals with the ending step-size of 1 dB characterizes the
measured perception threshold.
The measured vibrations on the seat surface include components in more
or less all three (x/y/z) directions although just a vertical excitation of the
vibration-pad is used. This phenomenon is not unknown and is specific for
cushioned seats (even car seats) because the seat is describable as a massspring system with more than one degree-of-freedom and with no linear
2 acoustic stimulus: pink noise in a frequency range from 30 Hz to 10 kHz with a level
of L = 66 dB(A), referred to as with noise
141
guides (reported frequently as single-input multiple output system in literature, e.g., Griffin, 1990). The transmitted vibrations in the human body (at
position P3) probably depend on the weight, body-size and posture of the
seated subject. Therefore the vibration parameters for the description on
the perception of seat vibrations considers the vibrations in all directions on
the seat. In contradiction to this the accelerations which are reproduced on
the vibration-pad and are transduced into the human body by the feet is independent of the anthropometric data of the seated subjects. Additionally,
the accelerations transduced by the feet consist of just vertical components.
The measured vibrations on the seat surfaced indicate components in all
three directions, as mentioned before. Therefore not only the vibrations in
the excitation axis (vertical, z-axis) are used for the description of the perception but also vibrations in the horizontal plane. Two parameters are used
for description of the perception threshold according to existing standards
(e.g., ISO 2631-2, 1989): the vibration total value referred to as aV,seat ,
which includes the vibrations transmitted by the seat, and the vibration total value referred to as aV,seatf eet for vibrations transmitted by the seat
(triaxial) and by the feet (just z-axis) into the body. The parameters are
calculated as follows, Eq. 5.1 and 5.2:
aV,seat
aV,seatf eet
= (kx2 a2x + ky2 a2y + kz2 a2z ) 2

=
(5.1)
1
2
2
2
(kx2 a2x + ky2 a2y + kz2 a2z + kz,f
eet az,f eet )
(5.2)
with
aj
az,f eet
kj
kz,f eet
=
=
=
=
the rms acceleration for seat vibrations in j = x, y or z axes

the rms acceleration for feet vibrations in z-axis
weighting-factors for three (j = x/y/z) directions of the seat
weighting-factors for z-directions of the feet
The weighting factors kj for seat vibrations in the three (x/y/z) directions
are kx = ky = kz = 1 and kz,f eet = 0.4 for the transmitted vibrations by
the feet according to the recommendation for comfort and perception evaluation in ISO 2631-1 and VDI 2057-2. The averaged perception thresholds
separated for two groups the four subjective-testers (trained subjects; circles) and the untrained subjects (squares) are given for both conditions in
Fig. 5.3. The results for the condition silent condition (opened) and with
noise (closed) are shifted in the frequency range for a better illustration.
142
vibration total value aV,seat

92
vibration total value aV,seatfeet
trained subjects (tester)

untrained subjects
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
16
31.5
16
31.5
Fig. 5.3: Measured perception thresholds for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibrations on a real car seat. The participants are separated into two subject groups:
the four subjective-testers trained subjects (circles) and the untrained subjects
(squares). On the left side the vibration total value aV,seat for vibrations which
are transmitted by the seat into the body and on the right side the vibration total
value aV,seatf eet are figured. The parameter aV,seatf eet considers vibrations
which are transmitted by the seat and by the feet into the human body. The
results for the condition without noise (opened) and with noise (closed) are
shifted in the frequency range for a better illustration.
The perception thresholds for aV,seatf eet including the interindividual standard deviations rise with increasing frequency from about 84 dB at 16 Hz
to 87 dB at 31.5 Hz. In comparison to this finding the perception threshold
aV,seat is minimum 2 dB below aV,seatf eet at f = 16 Hz and decreases
slightly with increasing frequency. The reason for this is maybe a damping
effect of the seat which depends on the frequency, among other things, but
both tendencies are not statistically significant (T-Test, p > 0.05). Therefore a nearly constant perception threshold at 16 and 31.5 Hz is measured.
A correlation analysis points out that there are no significant differences
between the results of both subject groups (T-Test, p > 0.05). Hence the
results of the four subjective testers reflect the results of a large group of
untrained subjects very well. An additional acoustic stimuli with a level of
66 dB(A) does not influence the perception threshold (T-Test, p > 0.05).
However, the interindividual standard deviation is about 3 dB for the silent
condition and increases slightly for the condition with noise. Additionally,
a statistical test shows that the measured perception thresholds are independent of the personal (exogenous and endogenous) data: body-size, weight,
Rohrer Index (RI) and Body-Mass Index (BMI), as well as age. These results verify findings from Baumann (2001b) who reports similar results based
on body-size and weight for experiments on the perception of whole-body
vibrations on a real cushioned car seat.
5.4. Exp. 2: Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL)
143
There are just a few data for the perception of vibrations on real seats in
the literature. Besides, each type of car seat (e.g., sport seat, comfortable
seat, etc.) has different frequency-characteristics which probably influence
the perception thresholds, as mentioned before. Data from Baumann et
al. (2001a) were measured with a similar seat and a similar masking noise
(pink noise with L = 68 dB(A)) for 16 subjects (particularly trained and
untrained), see Fig. 5.4. These results are comparable with the perception
thresholds of the four testers but they are nearly 1 dB below the results of
the tester. This is probably affected by individual differences of the used
subject groups and besides the differences are not statistically significant
(T-Test, p > 0.05).
The results can be summarized as follows: The individual sensitivity (measured perception thresholds) of the subjects on a real car seat are independent of exogenous and endogenous data like age, weight, body-size, RI and
BMI, as well as frequencies of 16 and 31.5 Hz. Additionally, the results for
untrained subjects do not differ significantly from the results of the highly
trained subjective-tester. Moreover an additional masking noise (here pink
noise) with a level of L = 66 dB(A) has no influence on the perception
thresholds. These findings are similar to results from Baumann et al. who
used a similar measurement set-up and nearly the same car seat.
5.4
Experiment 2: Just noticeable differences

in level
The difference thresholds for (quasi) vertical seat vibrations are measured
at 31.5 Hz - almost the prominent 2nd motor order for a 4-cylinder engine car - in the presence of an audible stimulus (pink noise with a level
of 66 dB(A)). The measuring method is again an adaptive 3 AFC 1 up 2 down method (Chapter 3.6). The reference stimulus is a sinusoidal vertical vibration at the position P1 and P2 with f = 31.5 Hz and a level of
LV ib = 100 dB (a = 0.1 m/s2 ). This level is in a level range which is not
uncomfortable (after the ISO 2631-1 (1997), see Tab. 1.2). Additionally,
this is a common acceleration level for cars in idle running conditions. The
reference level is very similar to the reference level of the JNDL measured on
a rigid seat (Chapter 3.6.1). The test-vibrations have an inertial vibration
level of LV ib = 110 dB. The step-size is halved after each upper reversal
from 4 to an ending step-size of 0.25 dB. The JNDLs are determined just in
the presence of an additional audible stimulus because some studies report
that there are no effects of noise on the difference thresholds in level (e.g.,
144
vibration total value aV,seat

92
vibration total value aV,seatfeet
trained subjects (tester)

Baumann et al, 01
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
16
31.5
16
31.5
Fig. 5.4: Perception thresholds from Fig. 5.3 in comparison to literature data
from Baumann et al. (2001a). The data are a little bit shifted in the frequency
range for a better illustration.
Baumann, 2001b) at similar noise level (L = 68 dB(A)). 15 male subjects

participated in this measurement with one repetition for each subject.
JNDL [dB]
2.5
trained subjects (testers)

untrained subjects
Baumann et al 01
0.33
0.26
1.5
0.19
0.12
0.5
0.06
16
20,
25
31.5
40
50
63
Relative difference threshold, I/I
The relative just noticeable level differences for testers and untrained sub-
80
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 5.5: Just noticeable differences in level measured on a real car seat are plotted
as a function of frequency (left y-axis) for trained (circles) and untrained subjects
(squares). The right y-scale denotes the relative difference thresholds (I/I).
Additionally, data from Baumann (2001b) in a frequency range from 16 to 80 Hz
with a similar measurement set-up are shown. The audible stimulus has a level of
66 dB(A) for results of this study and 68 dB(A) for results of Baumann (2001b).
5.5. Exp. 3: Influence of level on seat vibration assessments
145
jects at 31.5 Hz are shown in Fig. 5.5. The difference thresholds are ranged
at about 1.5 dB 0.5 dB or I/I = 19% 5%. The averaged JNDL,
as well as the intra- and interindividual standard deviations are a little bit
higher for the untrained subjects than the ones for trained testers. But the
differences between the results of the two subject groups are not statistically
significant (T-Test, p > 0.05). Similar results, which are also independent
of frequency, are reported by Baumann (2001b) in a frequency range from
16 to 80 Hz measured in presence of a similar audible stimulus (pink noise
with a level of 68 dB(A)). No significant differences (T-Test,p > 0.05) are
observable between the results of both studies.
The range of the measured difference thresholds in level on a real car seat
are the range as the results measured on a rigid seat in Chapter 3.6.1. The
seat has probably no influence on the just noticeable differences in level at
low magnitudes and is almost a constant of about 1.5 dB even though the
stimuli on a real cushioned car seat include components in all three axes.
5.5
Experiment 3: Influence of the level on the

seat vibration assessments
The task of the participating subjects in this experiment is to give their

subjective comfort ratings on the presented seat vibrations. The level of the
seat vibration changes during the experiment. The task of this experiment
does not differ from the normal measurement procedure for a subjective
testing-session in a real car, except for the location (see Chapter 4). The
target of this experiment is to investigate the relation between the level
of the seat vibrations and the appendant subjective comfort assessment
without visual and acoustic components since results in Chapter 4 show
that there is an influence of the size of the calculated objective vibration
parameters on the subjective ratings. Hence the subjective rating decreases
with increasing acceleration.
The seat vibrations are just the vertical components of the vibration signals
from a real petrol- and a real diesel-engine car (4-cylinder engine) from the
same car type (middle class). These two seat vibrations were judged by two
professional testers with subjective ratings which are in the middle range of
the used scale in Chapter 4.4.1. The used two vibration signals were digitally
changed in level. Therefore seat vibration signals with seven different levels
for petrol and for diesel cars are used for this experiment. The signals with
the highest level indicate a low quality and the ones with the lowest level
denote a highly one. The level changes and limits are based on the results of
146
the regression analysis, see Fig. 4.5 and 4.6, as well. In contrast to the used
signals in Chapter 4.4.1 the signals are changed in level but not in frequency
(like different rpms). The duration of the vibration signals are 30 s.
The different vibration signals - separated into seven diesel and seven petrol
car vibrations - are presented in randomized level order to the subject. The
subjects know that the felt seat vibrations are recorded in a petrol- or in a
diesel-engine car during this experiment like in the normal testing-session3 .
The subjective ratings are given in terms of categorical units [cu] (Chapter 4.3) according to the (dis-) comfort of the felt seat vibrations. 14
(1 female and 13 male) subjects participated in this measurement. Four
of these subjects are the subjective-testers who are familiar with the used
categorical scale and the measurement procedure. The other subjects are
untrained and are not familiarized with the subjective rating scale. Therefore
the seat vibrations with the highest and the lowest levels are presented to
the 10 untrained subjects at the beginning of the experiment to give them
an overview about the level range of the vibration signals which occur during the experiment. This experiment is repeated three times for each engine
type and for each subject. During the experiments the subjects do not hear
an acoustic stimulus, except for the background noise in comparison to the
assessment situation in a real car.
The untrained subjects were not able to give consistent answers (results)
during the three repetitions which is confirmed in a statistical test. Seat
vibrations with increasing level do not always obtain decreasing subjective
assessments. That is the reason why the results do not show a high consistency. Additionally, some subjects transfer the presented seat vibrations
into the given categorical scale. That means that the seat vibration with
the highest acceleration level is judged with the lowest categorical note and
the lowest acceleration obtains the highest note. This transformation effect
is well known in psychoacoustic measurements and is reported frequently.
The application of the scale from the untrained subjects is inconsistent with
the usage of the trained subjective testers who use just a limited range of
the scale for their evaluations of the seat vibrations. The consistency coefficient of each subjective-testers is one. Furthermore, the four testers show
similar judgement behaviors which is confirmed with a statistical correlation
analysis. Therefore the results of the four testers are used for the following analysis and the subjective assessments of the testers are summarized.
It is just briefly noted that the two subjective-testers, who assisted in the
testing-session in the real cars, give similar subjective ratings for seat vibrations with the original acceleration level as in the real car even though they
3 The subjective-testers are able to recognize the differences between different engine
types.
5.5. Exp. 3: Influence of level on seat vibration assessments
Subjective Ratings [cu]
Petrol
Diesel
Regression Petrol
rP = 0.86***
n = 84
P
Regression Diesel
r = 0.87***
D
nD = 84
better
Acceleration [arbitrary units]
147
Fig. 5.6: Relation between the presented seat

vibration acceleration and
the appendant averaged
subjective ratings of the
four
subjective-testers.
Additionally,
the regression curve which
is calculated from the
single values of the
experiment is plotted.
The acceleration and the
subjective ratings are
given in arbitrary [au]
and categorical units [cu],
respectively.
do not know that the presented vibrations are the same as in the real testing
session (Chapter 4.4.1).
The results of all testers are classified into petrol and diesel cars including
the three repetitions (np = nD = 84). A correlation analysis is conducted
between the subjective assessments and the objective vibration acceleration afterwards. There is a relation between the subjective ratings and
the presented acceleration of the seat vibrations. The correlation coefficients are highly significant for petrol rP = 0.86 and for diesel signals
rD = 0.87 . The linear regression curve is calculated and is figured
as well as the summarized results (mean inclusive interindividual standard
deviation) in Fig. 5.6. The accelerations and the subjective ratings are given
in arbitrary and categorical units, respectively, like in Chapter 4.
The plotted results contain two main tendencies: first, there is an antiproportionality between the acceleration of the seat vibrations and the subjective ratings whereas the interindividual standard deviations rise with increasing acceleration. The second tendency is that diesel-engine cars receive
better subjective ratings than petrol-engine cars for the same objective accelerations, see Fig. 5.6. The difference in the subjective assessments increase
slightly with increasing acceleration. Both findings are similar to results
from subjective testing-sessions in real cars, except for the slopes of the regression curves (see Chapter 4.4.1). The different judgements for diesel and
petrol cars are not caused by parameters depending on frequency or level.
The interindividual standard deviation increases with rising acceleration, as
mentioned before. In contrast to this the intraindividual standard deviations
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for each subjective tester are very small and below one categorical unit.
The question is: why do the subjective ratings from the testers slightly differ with increasing acceleration ? Perhaps the interindividual differences are
attributed to individual differences for the perception of vibrations. It is just
briefly noted that the real car seat vibrations imply a dominate 2nd motor
order at about 31.5 Hz in the spectra. Furthermore, the energy at low frequencies around the second motor order is from decisive importance for the
subjective comfort assessments of the seat vibrations in this car class (Chapter 4.4.1). Therefore the pregenerated changes in the acceleration of seat
vibrations are transformed into intraindividual just noticeable differences in
level of the four testers at f = 31.5 Hz. The interindividual standard deviation decreases perspicuously, especially for higher accelerations, by using
the transformation from acceleration into difference threshold units in level
(referred to as JNDLU). Additionally, a relation between the JNDLUs and
the categorical units can be calculated: An increase of the seat vibrations
of about 3.5 JNDLU for petrol cars and 4.8 JNDLU for diesel cars delivers
a decreasing subjective rating of two categorical units. A correlation analysis between the perception thresholds and the individual judgement of the
testers delivers no significant correlation.
The findings of the regression analysis for this experiment and for the subjective testing-sessions in a real car are not really comparable to each other
since many measuring parameters like the presented acoustic stimuli and the
measurement environment are changed. But the tendencies of the regression curves are very similar. Therefore the results of this experiment validate
the findings of the correlation analysis in Chapter 4 based on the influence
of level on the quality assessments. However, the level (acceleration) is
just one parameter which influences the subjective judgement behavior of
the seat vibrations. Furthermore, the result shows the importance of the
knowledge of basic psychophysical parameters like JNDLs. The individual
differences in the judgement behavior can be particularly explained by the
differences for JNDLs.
5.6
Experiment 4: Influence of interior sound

on the subjective seat vibration ratings
Interior sound and vibrations in cars impair the subjective comfort. Hence
the subjective ratings of sound and vibration in a vehicle are an important
tool to assure defined quality standards. The dependence of the level of
the seat vibrations on the subjective quality assessments is investigated in
the last section (Chapter 5.5). However, the level is just one parameter
5.6. Exp. 4: Influence of sound on seat vibration ratings
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which probably has an influence on the evaluation of seat vibrations. It is

well known that the booming noise signals are highly correlated with the
recorded vibration signals in cars which is confirmed with statistical tests
for the recorded signals of the used cars in Chapter 4. The reason for
this is that the whole passenger cabin (windows, floor, etc.) vibrate and
therefore emit audible sound. Another aspect is that the found regression
curves of the last experiment and of the testing-sessions in a real car show
some differences between each other. Consequently, the assessments of seat
vibrations are not probably independent from the interior sound and from
the judgement of the booming noise. Therefore this experiment investigates
the influence of the booming noise on the subjective comfort judgements
of the seat vibrations. The task of the subject is to change (increase or
decrease) the level of a presented seat vibrations until the adjusted seat
vibrations are matched optimally (task 1) or not optimally (task 2 and 3)
to the simultaneous presented interior sound of a car.
The used seat vibration signals are the same as the ones in the last experiment (petrol and diesel car from the middle class). The audible components
in this measurement are the appropriate booming noise signals recorded
simultaneously with the seat vibrations in the (middle class) cars. The
booming noise is presented to the subjects with the original level by headphones (HDA 200 from Sennheiser). The level of the seat vibrations are
changeable with a logarithmic potentiometer by the participating subjects.
The four testers participate in this experiment because the results of last experiment for untrained subjects, who are not familiar with the measurement
procedure, are biased and inconsistent.
Three different initial accelerations for seat vibrations are applied: (a) obviously below the original acceleration (around the perception threshold) (b)
around and (c) obviously above the original acceleration of the recorded
vibrations. The task of the testers is to change the accelerations in such
a way that the felt seat vibrations match optimal with the heard booming
noise (task 1). The second and third task is to increase or to decrease the
magnitude of the vibrations until the force (perception) of the vibrations is
just too strong (task 2) or just too weak (task 3) for the simultaneously
heard booming noise, see Fig. 5.7. This experiment is repeated three times
for each inertial acceleration condition in randomized order. Additionally,
the order of the tasks are randomized, too. Therefore nine adjusted accelerations for each engine type, for each tester and for each tasks are available
for the following analysis. The duration for vibrations is 30 s. The subjects
know if the presented vibro-acoustic signals are recorded in a petrol or
diesel car.
The averaged adjusted levels for task 1 are nearly the original accelerations
Original acceleration
of the seat vibration
Task 2: seat vibration is too

strong for the booming -noise
Task 1: seat vibration is optimal

matched to the booming -noise
Test vibration
Task 3: seat vibration is too
weak for the booming -noise
Differnece c
SPL [dB]
Acceleration [m/s 2]
Original level of
the booming -noise
Differnece b Differnece a
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Perception threshold
Acceleration of the test
vibration is variable
Fig. 5.7: Schematic view of the tasks for experiment 4. The test-vibrations (seat
vibrations) are changeable in level by the subject in such a way that the testvibrations are just too strong, just too weak for the booming noise or are matched
optimal with the booming noise.
which are recorded in used cars (Chapter 4). This result exhibits the high
repeatability of the professional subjective-testers. Furthermore, a statistical
test (T-Test) points out that there is no influence of the initial acceleration
of the seat vibrations on the results of the three different tasks (p > 0.05).
The acceleration differences for seat vibrations between the different tasks
are calculated in a second analysis part. The judgement behaviors of the four
testers are similar which is confirmed in a statistical test. Additionally, the
interindividual standard deviations for all four testers can be reduced if the
acceleration differences are translated in terms of just noticeable differences
in level (JNDLU). The differences between the two extremes (tasks 2 and
3: force (perception) of the vibrations is just too weak or just too strong for
booming noise, respectively) are about 3 JNDLs for the diesel and 3.5 JNDLs
for petrol cars.
It is not possible to transform the differences of task 2 and 3 according to
task 1 in terms of categorical units like in subjective testing-session in real
cars (Chapter 4 or in the last experiment, Chapter 5.5). But the findings
of this experiment support the influence of the booming noise on the assessments of the seat vibrations. If the booming noise is mismatched to
the felt vibration the comfort ratings are probably biased. In addition,
the interindividual differences between the subjective testers can be reduced
5.7. Discussion
151
with respect to the individual perception of vibration. This finding shows

the importance of psychophysical parameters like JNDLs for the subjective
evaluation of the quality of seat vibrations.
5.7
Discussion
The influences of, e.g., the acceleration level or acceleration the perception
thresholds and the difference thresholds in level on the subjective quality
ratings of seat vibrations on a real car seat are investigated in the laboratory.
First, the perception thresholds are measured at 16 and 31.5 Hz on a real
(cushioned) car seat according to the first and the prominent second motor
order for a 4-cylinder engine in idle running cars. A real car seat is a singleinput multiple-output system (see ,e.g., Griffin, 1990) for a just vertical
excitation (what is well known in the car industry). Therefore the vibrations
in all three (x/y/z) directions have to be comprised at all contact areas
between the vibrating part (seat surface, backrest and floor) and the human
body for the determination of adequate parameters for the description of
the individual perception threshold on a real (cushioned) car seat. Those
measured data are statistically independent of frequency. Additionally, no
influence of an additional audible stimulus with a level of L = 66 dB(A) on
the perception thresholds is observable which is confirmed in a statistical
test. No significant differences were found between untrained and highly
trained subjects. Furthermore, these findings do not differ from data of
Baumann (2001b) which are determined with a similar measurement set-up
on a similar car seat.
A level difference in the acceleration level of about 1.5 dB 0.4 dB is
detectable (JNDL) for seat vibrations on a real car seat in the range of
LV ib = 100 dB. Besides, no differences between untrained and trained
subjects, as well as data from literature (Baumann, 2001b) exist. These
results are similar to difference thresholds which are determined on a rigid
seat (Chapter 3.6 at a similar reference acceleration. It seems that the just
noticeable differences in level for a sinusoidal vertical excitation are nearly
independent of the seat type and the contact areas between the human body
and the seat for frequencies below 31.5 Hz. Additionally the vibrations on
the seat surface of a real car seat contribute components in nearly all three
directions (x/y/z-axes) instead of just vertical components on a rigid seat
in Chapter 3.6.1. The individual sensitivity (measured perception thresholds
and the just noticeable differences) of the subjects on a real car seat are
independent of exogenous and endogenous data, like age, weight, body-size,
RI and BMI, as well as frequencies of 16 and 31.5 Hz.
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The last two experiments deal with broadband vibration signals and vibroacoustic signals which are measured in a real petrol- and diesel-engine car.
With these experiments the influence of the acceleration level and the booming noise on the subjective assessments of seat vibrations are investigated.
First, a real vertical vibration signal from a petrol-engine and from a dieselengine car are changed in the acceleration level. The task of the participating
subjects is to judge the quality of the felt seat vibrations. The same categorical scale, like in Chapter 4, is used for the subjective assessments of
the seat vibrations. The subjective ratings of the presented seat vibrations
decrease with increasing acceleration for both engine types. The correlation
coefficients between the subjective assessments and the (objective) accelerations on and at the seat are statistically significant. However, diesel-engine
cars get a better subjective rating than petrol-engine cars if the cars feature
the same objective acceleration level. This result is similar to findings of
testing-session in real cars (Chapter 4). A transformation of the acceleration
differences of the presented seat vibrations in terms of the individual just
noticeable differences in level units (JNDL) for the four subjective-testers
points out that an increase of the seat vibrations of 1.7 to 2 JNDL yields to
a rise of the subjective rating of 1 categorical unit. For this reason the vibrations of two (seats or) cars must differ about more than 1 JNDL in order to
obtain a different subjective rating according to the (dis-) comfort caused
by the seat vibration. Moreover, this experiment is just practicable with
professional testers who are familiarized with the subjective rating scale and
are highly trained in judging seat vibrations of the used class of cars to get
consistent and repeatable results. The regression curves between the subjective ratings and the objective vibration parameter of this experiment and
of the testing sessions in a real car (Chapter 4) are not comparable to each
other because too many measuring parameters are varying like excitation
axes, acoustic components and so on. But the results of both correlation
analysis show the same tendency.
In the last experiment the vibrations should be (active) changed by the subjects in order to receive (1) an optimal matching between the heard booming
noise and the felt seat vibrations, (2) the vibrations are too strong or (3) the
vibrations are too weak based on the heard booming noise. The subjective
testers adjust the original seat vibrations for the task (1) in a laboratory.
This finding shows the repeatability of the professional testers again. Additionally, an increase or a decrease of about 1.5 individual JNDL delivers a
mismatching between the sound and vibration (task 2 and 3), respectively.
Therefore the comfort assessments of the seat vibrations seem to depend
on the heard booming noise, as well. The results of the last experiment
and this one are not really comparable but the findings show a similar and
5.7. Discussion
153
more general tendency: The judgement of subjective-testers according to the

quality of seat vibrations is nearly independent of the individual perception
threshold but depends significantly on the just noticeable level differences
of the felt seat vibrations. This means that the same number of individual just noticeable differences in level for different subjective testers delivers
the same difference of the subjective ratings. Furthermore, the relationship
between heard sound and perceived vibration in a car is from decisive importance for the acceptability and the subjective ratings of the seat vibrations.
The relation between the results of this measurement and the findings of
real testing-sessions (Chapter 4) and experiment in Chapter 5.5 could be
investigated with a repetition of this measurement. But then the subjective
tester must give a subjective rating on the categorical scale according to the
task, as well.

This thesis deals with three different aspects of the perception of whole-body
vibrations for sitting subjects. First, basic experiments on the perception of
vertical sinusoidal vibrations are conducted on a rigid seat (Chapter 3) because incomplete details exist in the literature or the data from the literature
show considerable differences to the existing standards. The second aspect
focuses on an application from daily life traffic (Chapter 4) because the human body is exposed to sound and vibrations everywhere, especially inside
passenger cabins in vehicles. In the third part of this thesis the perception
of vibrations on a cushioned car seat is investigated (Chapter 5) because it
is not possible to compare the results of the basic experiments (Chapter 3)
with the applications inside a car (Chapter 4).
In Chapter 3 four basic experiments on the perception of vertical whole-body
vibrations are conducted with new and reliable psychoacoustic measuring
methods to inhibit and to minimize the influence of measuring parameters
on the results. The vibrations are produced by using the vibration-floor.
This system was developed while performing the experiments of this thesis. This system emits just low sound pressure, which is not audible for
low frequencies up to 50 Hz and around the auditory threshold for higher
frequencies, during the production of vibrations (Chapter 2.1). Therefore,
the vibration-floor is suited to investigate the perception of vibrations in a
nearly silent environment.
First, the psychometric functions are measured for 5 Hz with the method of
constant stimuli for 14 subjects (Chapter 3.3). The duration of the stimulus is 2 s because there is an influence on the perception threshold for
5 Hz if the duration is shorter (Chapter 3.4). The measured psychometric functions show considerable differences for the perception of sinusoidal
vertical vibrations between individuals. Additionally, a maximum likelihood
fit is made for the psychometric functions which shows a good consistence
with the measured data (Chapter 3.3). The logistical function of the averaged data of all subjects has a slope of 10.7 %/dB at the central point
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L50 = 82.9 dB. There are no data in the literature found for measurements
of the psychometric function.
In the second experiment the perception thresholds of vertical whole-body
vibrations are measured with an adaptive 3 - AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring
method in a frequency range from 5 to 200 Hz (Chapter 3.5). But before the perception thresholds are measured for a large number of subjects
the influence of some measuring parameters, like stimulus duration and
measuring method, on the threshold are investigated with some subjects
(Chapter 3.4). For example, the stimulus duration of the vibration signals
is 2 s for vibrations below 16 Hz and 1 s for higher vibrations because the
perception threshold decreases with rising exposure time (pre-experiment 1,
Chapter 3.4.1). Furthermore, the perception thresholds are measured for
frequencies above 16 Hz in presence of an additional audible stimulus (pink
noise, L = 69 dB(A)) to prohibit an influence of the emitted sound from the
vibration-floor, especially for 63 Hz (Chapter 3.4.2). There is no influence
of an audible stimulus up to this level on the perception threshold (Meloni,
1991; Baumann et al., 2001a). The averaged curve increases from 5 to
8 Hz with nearly 7 dB/octave and is constant up to 63 Hz at a level of
LV ib = 88 dB thereafter. For higher frequencies the perception threshold
decreases a bit to a level of about LV ib = 86 dB. This slightly increasing
sensitivity and decreasing perception threshold for 125 and 200 Hz probably
depends on the bone conduction threshold because no additional audible
cues are measurable at the ear of the subjects via air conduction. However,
a measurement of the perception threshold is difficult or maybe impossible
even with masking audible noise, if bone conduction influences the perception thresholds for higher frequencies. For future investigations basic pure
tone bone conduction threshold audiometry experiments should be made to
investigate the influence of bone conduction on the perception of vertical
whole-body vibrations, especially for frequencies above 63 Hz. Additionally,
the vibrations on the head and between the chair (seat surface) and the
human body should also be measured. Just a few data are found in the
literature for bone conduction thresholds (e.g., Queller & Khanna, 1982;
Khanna et al., 1976) which indicate a decreasing bone conduction threshold with increasing frequency up to some kHz. Furthermore, more data for
the seat-head-transmissibility (some clues are given in Chapter 3.4.2 and in
Appendix C) are necessary at low magnitudes for higher frequencies (above
25 Hz) to investigate if body resonances (modes) yield an additional (audible) cue during the perception threshold measurements. Most studies for
the seat-head-transmissibility report about results in the frequency range
from 1 to 20 Hz with high vibration magnitudes ( 1 m/s2 ) and with a
broadband (shock) excitation (some are summarized in Griffin, 1990). But
156
the human body is a highly non-linear system (which is reported frequently

in the literature, e.g., Griffin, 1990; Mansfield & Griffin, 2000). Moreover,
the influence of the posture and the contact areas between the vibrating
surface and the human body must be controlled because an influence of
the vibrating contact area on the bone conduction thresholds is reported
(Queller & Khanna, 1982). The lack of such data and the difficult measuring conditions are probably the reasons why no or only few data above
63 Hz are available for the perception threshold in literature. These data
also show a decreasing perception threshold for frequencies above 63 Hz.
Another way to investigate a possible influence of bone conduction is to use
hearing impaired subjects who have a loss of function of the inner ear. Those
subjects could not detect any audible stimuli via air or bone conduction.
However, the interindividual standard deviations are large (about 5 dB) for
measurements of the perception threshold with vertical vibrations (Fig. 3.13,
Chapter 3.5). The differences between individuals (interindividual standard
deviations) for the perception thresholds in this study are not explicable
with anthropometric exogenous variables like weight, body-size, Body-Mass
Index (BMI) and Rohrer Index (RI) or endogenous variables like age and
gender (Chapter 3.5). These findings verify results of different other studies which are found in the literature (like Griffin & Whitham, 1978; Griffin,
1982; Parsons & Griffin, 1982; Corbridge & Griffin, 1986; Griefahn & Brode,
1997; Baumann, 2001b) for different aspects of the perception of vertical
vibrations. Additionally, the seat pressure distributions of some participants
are measured at the contact between the seat and the human body with
a special pressure distribution measurement cushion (Chapter 3.5, as well).
Simple parameters like mean and maximum pressure p, pressure gradient
(| 5 p|) and size of the contact area are calculated from these individual pressure distributions. The calculated simple parameters are also not
suited to systematically explain the differences between humans. This finding also verifies results from Kruse (2001). However, the presented perception threshold for vertical whole-body vibrations show no higher deviations
to some literature data (like McKay, 1972), except for low frequencies below 16 Hz. It is just briefly noted that the data at low frequencies are often
influenced by visual or audible additional cues (described in Griffin, 1990, or
Fig. 3.13). Existing standards (e.g., ISO 2631-2, 1989; VDI 2057-2, 1987)
for vertical vibrations show considerable deviations to the summarized literature data. The standard curve rises with increasing frequency from 8 Hz
upwards with constant 6 dB/octave Therefore the standard data overestimate or underestimate the vertical whole-body vibrations below or above
50 Hz, respectively (Fig. 3.13). It is necessary to repeat the measurements
of the perception thresholds for vertical whole-body vibrations with many
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healthy volunteers and with comparable measuring conditions at different

laboratories to get repeatable and constant data for a revision of the standard perception thresholds which are specified in existing standards.
In a third experiment the Just Noticeable Differences in Level (JNDL, Chapter 3.6.1) and in Frequency (JNDF, Chapter 3.6.2) are determined in a frequency range from 5 to 50 Hz and from 5 to 40 Hz for vertical vibrations,
respectively. The difference thresholds for vertical whole-body vibrations are
about 1.5 dB. Additionally, the JNDLs show no significant frequency dependence. The intra- and interindividual standard deviations are about 0.4 dB
and indicate a high repeatability of the JNDLs. This finding is very interesting because different mechano receptors in the skin are involved in the
detection of vibrations with different frequencies (Fig. 1.18). These receptors are specialized in detecting different objective properties of the stimulus
like magnitude, velocity and acceleration (Chapter 1.2.3). This is probably
the reason for the fine structure of the JNDL curves in Fig. 3.14. However,
the differences (fine structure) of the JNDLs at different frequencies are
statistically not significant (T-Test, p < 0.01). There are not a lot of data
in the literature published for a sinusoidal vibration excitation for JNDLs
but data from Morioka & Griffin show no significant deviations to results of
this study. Additionally, data from Baumann (2001b) validate the findings
even though the JNDLs are measured on a cushioned car seat; but there
is a tendency observable that the JNDL decreases slightly with increasing
acceleration level of the reference stimulus. These findings indicate that just
a small number of noticeable level differences for vertical vibrations between
the perception and the pain threshold are detectable for humans. It is
just briefly noted that there are some parallels to the JNDLs for the hearing
which also depend on the presented level and are almost independent of
frequency over a large frequency range (Zwicker & Fastl, 1999).
Additionally, the Just Noticeable Differences in Frequency (JNDF) are measured for a small number of participants. The measured data show that
the humans are highly sensitive for frequency changes at 5 Hz. The JNDF
is about 0.25 Hz at 5 Hz and increases linearly depending on frequency
up to 16.7 Hz at 40 Hz. The linear increase in proportion to frequency is
about 0.34 f 1.25 Hz which is just applicable for reference frequencies between 5 and 40 Hz. The differences between subjects are very large
(Fig 3.16) in comparison to the very low intraindividual differences which
increase slightly with the reference frequency. This measurement should be
repeated for more subjects and for more frequencies between 5 and 40 Hz
to verify these findings. It seems that humans are not trained to detect
frequency changes in a vibration signal. These results indicate that the frequency differentiation of the sense of touch for vibrations is not so distinct
158
than the frequency differentiation of the ear for acoustic stimuli (reported
in the psychoacoustic, e.g., in Zwicker & Fastl, 1999).
The last basic experiment is the determination of the (so-called) equalvibration level contours (comparable to equal-loudness level contours) with
a new psychophysical measuring method (adaptive 2 AFC interleaved 1 up
- 1 down, Buus et al., 1997) in the frequency range from 5 to 80 Hz for
vertical whole-body vibrations. This measuring method minimizes the influences of the experimental procedure, e.g., the initial level dependence of the
test vibrations. Equal-vibration level contours are of interest for measured
vibrations in real situations like in buildings or transport facilities in daily
life where vibrations usually occur with broadband frequency characteristics
and with some components above the perception thresholds. The reason
for the interest is that the inverted shapes of the curves could be used for
a psychophysically motivated spectral weighting of a measured broadband
vibration signal and therefore deliver psychophysically motivated parameters
which are better suited to describe and forecast the perception of broadband
vibrations. In this study the contours are measured close to the perception
threshold (reference stimulus: sinusoidal stimulus with fRef = 20 Hz and
an acceleration level of LV ib = 100 dB). The curves show an increase depending on frequency from about 2.3 dB/octave from 6 to 63 Hz. Above
63 Hz the slope of the equal-vibration level contour rises rapidly which indicates a decreasing sensitivity of the human body for higher frequencies. The
low intraindividual standard deviations indicate a high repeatability of the
subjects but the interindividual standard deviation shows large differences
between individuals (Chapter 3.7). In existing standards for the perception
of vibrations, (e.g., VDI 2057-2, 1987; ISO 2631-2, 1989), curves above the
perception thresholds are specified for the horizontal plane (x/y-axes) and
vertical direction (z-axis) to describe the sensation and perception of wholebody vibrations. These curves are the standardized perception thresholds
multiplied with K-values (specified in existing standards, e.g., VDI 2057-1,
see also Fig A.2 in Appendix A). The standard curves show considerable
differences to the measured equal-vibration level contours. In the literature
such curves are sometimes denoted as equal-subjective vibration intensity
(Shoenberger & Harris, 1971) or equivalent-comfort contours (e.g., summarized in Griffin, 1990) and they deviate from each other probably due to
the used measuring method and the used reference. Most of the measured
equivalent-comfort contours for vertical vibrations of seated subjects, which
are published by, e.g., Dupuis et al., 1972a-c; Griffin (1982); Donati et al.
(1983); Corbridge & Griffin (1986), feature a rising curve for increasing frequency above 8 Hz with a slope of about 6 dB/octave and more. These
curves are often measured at high accelerations and show no considerable
159
differences to the specified curves in existing standards (e.g., VDI 2057-2).

But there is a lack of data in the lower acceleration range and a discrepancy
between the findings of this thesis and the literature data, as well. Howarth
& Griffin (1990) report similar tendencies but the data are measured with a
different reference stimulus and measuring method: a narrow band (audible)
noise as reference and a method of magnitude estimation was used. The
contours obtained for magnitude estimations of 50 and 100 and 200 that
is why the data are not really comparable to each other; but both results
show nearly the same tendency even so different reference stimuli were used.
Additionally, the shape (curve) of the measured equal-vibration level contours differs significantly from the measured perception threshold curve of
this study even though the contours are measured close to the perception threshold. The different shapes of both curves are not explicable with
JNDLs which are independent of frequency. It is just briefly noted that
this is contradicting findings in psychoacoustics where the equal-loudness
level contours, which are close to the auditory threshold, have a similar shape as the threshold. The shape of the equal-loudness level contours changes depending on the presented level up to the pain threshold which becomes more flat. For future investigations it is necessary
to measure the equal-vibration level contours with a reference stimulus
which has a fixed frequency and a varying magnitude from the perception threshold to the pain curves. With such measurements the dependence of the equal-vibration level contours could be investigated. Additionally, these curves could be the basis of psychophysically motivated
spectral weighting functions which depend on acceleration level. Such
curves are also of decisive importance for vibrations in the horizontal plane.
These four basic experiments are just made with sinusoidal stimuli. The
next step (for future experiments) is to repeat some experiments with narrow band and broadband vibration stimuli. Additionally, the determination
of the critical bandwidth (Fletcher experiment) might help to understand
the perception of vibrations and could help to understand the different perception of sinusoidal and narrow band vibration signals. Furthermore, many
basic experiments with reliable measuring methods, which are well known
in the psychoacoustics, are missing for the description of the perception of
whole-body vibrations.
An application of the perception of whole-body vibrations is given in the
daily life traffic where humans are usually exposed to broadband vibrations,
especially in passenger cabins of vehicles. Therefore, the second and third
parts of this thesis focus on the perception of vibrations on a real cushioned
car seat inside cars. Two main investigations are conducted: first, the quality
of seat and steering-wheel vibrations inside passenger cabins of vehicles are
160
judged by professional subjective-testers (Chapter 4). The objectives are to

identify objective parameters to get an objective method for the description
of the subjective (dis-) comfort caused by seat and steering-wheel vibrations. In the third part basic experiments for the perception of whole-body
vibrations on a real (cushioned) cars seat are carried out, like perception
thresholds and subjective ratings of (artificial) sinusoidal and (real) broadband seat vibrations (Chapter 5). With these measurements, the gap or
discrepancy between the findings in Chapter 3 (basic experiments with sinusoidal vertical vibrations) and Chapter 4 (application inside a car with
real broadband multi-dimensional vibrations) should be clarified; additionally, the found objective parameters for the description of the quality of seat
vibrations should be validated. Furthermore, the influence of psychophysical parameters like just noticeable difference in level are investigated on the
subjective quality ratings of seat vibration.
Chapter 4 focuses on broadband vibration signals and exhibits an example
for an application of the perception of vibrations in the passenger cabin of
vehicles in the car industry. The sound and the vibrations (seat and steeringwheel vibrations) have a decisive importance on the passenger comfort inside
cars and the acceptability of a vehicle. It would be very advantageous to
know the properties of noise and vibration signals which are fundamental for
the subjective quality assessments. Therefore the target is to find (objective)
signal parameters, which are calculated from multi-channel recordings of the
sound and the vibrations inside passenger cabins of cars, in order to describe
and forecast the (subjective) quality judgements. In detail: the quality of
seat and steering-wheel vibrations are judged by professional testers for different classes of cars. The seat and steering-wheel vibrations as well as
sound are recorded inside cars of different classes (small, middle and upper
middle class) in idle running conditions simultaneously with the subjective
ratings. These testing-sessions are a common way in the car industry for
the classification of the qualities of sound and vibrations. From the 19
channel-recordings of the vibrations and the sound field inside the cabin
objective signal parameters for the seat and steering-wheel vibrations are
calculated which correlate significantly with the subjective ratings and consequently describe the subjective vibration comfort. Psychophysically motivated parameters (from existing standards, e.g., ISO 2631-1/2, ISO 53491/2, DIN 4051-1/2 and VDI 2057-1/2/3), as well as signal parameters from
the car industry are considered for the classification of seat and steeringwheel vibrations. The subjective ratings of professional testers are correlated
with the calculated parameters thereafter.
The results can be summarized as follows: it turns out that psychophysically
motivated spectrally weighted vibration signal parameters as proposed in ISO
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2631-2 (1989); ISO 5349-2 (2001); VDI 2057-2 (1987) deliver significantly
higher correlation coefficients with the subjective assessments than spectrally unweighted vibration parameters which are mostly used in the car industry. This finding applies just for the steering-wheel vibrations. Spectrally
unweighted parameters for the seat vibrations, which are also band limited,
show significant high correlation coefficients with the subjective ratings.
The reason for this is that the horizontal vibrations are as important for the
subjective comfort ratings of the seat vibrations as the vertical vibrations
(z-direction) for the investigated cars. But the standard spectral weighting
function Wd (specified in VDI 2057-2, 1987; ISO 2631-1, 1997) attenuates
the horizontal accelerations (x- and y-axes) more than the z- acceleration
by using Wk . Additionally, the vibration energy in the low frequency region
between the 1st and 2nd motor order, especially around the 2nd motor order, contributes to the quality assessment of the seat and steering-wheel
vibrations significantly (in 4-cylinder engine cars). Vibration total values
for the seat and the steering-wheel vibrations, which take into account accelerations of all three directions (x/y/z), deliver higher correlation coefficients with subjective assessments than parameters which include only the
accelerations in z-direction. A correlation analysis separated in petrol and
diesel-engine models increases the correlation coefficients between the subjective and objective data significantly. The different judgement behaviors
in case of petrol and diesel cars with nearly the same value of the objective
parameter (diesel cars get better subjective ratings than the petrol cars) are
not exclusively explained with changes of the spectral characteristics for the
steering-wheel and seat vibrations.
Both testers for small and middle class cars show almost similar judgement
behaviors for the steering-wheel vibrations and for the seat vibrations in the
middle class cars which is confirmed with statistical tests. Therefore the
subjective assessments are summarized together with the objective parameters in the cases of the middle class vehicles. The small class cars were
a new production run, therefore the subjective ratings of the two testers for
the steering-wheel vibrations do not probably correlate with the objective
spectral parameters. Additionally, the results for the seat vibrations of the
small class cars show that the application of professional subjective-testers
who are highly trained and familiar with the specific car type are needed to
get repeatable assessments for each tester, similar judgement behaviors for
different testers and to calculate objective parameters which correlate significantly with the subjective assessments. Furthermore, the optimal measuring
position of the seat vibrations depends on the car class and the used seat
with special seat rails. Therefore, an optimal measuring position cannot be
specified for all classes but for each class separately. For the verification of
162
these findings, a lot of cars should be used from each car class and should be
judged by a lot of subjective testers; especially for petrol cars of the upper
middle class because the number of cars used in this study was very low.
Additionally, the testing-sessions in the small class cars should be repeated
with the same subjective-testers, who are highly trained now, to find out if
the subjective ratings correlate significantly with the objective parameters
then.
The results from the correlation analysis between the objective vibration
parameters and the subjective ratings of professional testers show that it
is necessary to specify psychophysically motivated spectral weighting functions, which are determined on the same seat as the used type of seat in the
real car. The measurement of the equal-vibration level contours for vertical
excitation (Chapter 3) indicates that the spectral weighting function Wk
shows considerable differences to the measured equal-vibration level contours. One way to get psychophysically motivated spectral weighting functions, which improve the description of (dis-) comfort, is to determine the
equal-vibration level contours for the vertical (z-) and the horizontal (x/y-)
axes from the perception threshold to the pain threshold with a fixed measuring method and with a fixed reference stimulus on the used real (cushioned) car seat. Additionally, measurements are needed for the equivalent
perception of horizontal and vertical whole-body vibrations simultaneously
because the relative position of the spectral weighting function for the horizontal plane and for the vertical direction is of decisive importance for the
subjective ratings and for the psychophysically motivated spectral weighting
functions. Moreover, some clues are reported in the literature about equivalent contours of vertical and horizontal vibrations (Griefahn & Brode, 1997).
In this study, a statistical test shows that if the weighting-factors kj for the
three directions (j = x/y/z) are changed so that kx and ky get higher values
than kz this means that the vibrations in the horizontal plane give higher
contributions to the vibration total value than the vertical components
the correlation coefficients between the calculated objective parameters and
the subjective ratings are nearly unchanged or increase significantly. Furthermore, such equal-vibration contours must be investigated not only with
sinusoidal vibrations but also with frequency limited narrow band seat vibrations, as well. With such measurements it could be verified if there are any
differences between the curves by using sinusoidal and narrow band vibration signals. This verification is very important because the application in
the passenger cabin show that the vibration signals feature almost narrow
band frequency limited character. This applies especially to low frequencies around prominent motor orders which are important for the subjective
(dis-) comfort judgement of seat vibrations. In contrast to this the highly
163
significant correlation coefficients for the steering-wheel vibrations feature

that the spectrally weighted parameters describe the subjective rating of
subjective-testers very well. Some laboratories reported about measurements of equal-vibration level contours which were determined with sinusoidal rotational hand-arm vibrations (for example, Shayaa et al., 2001).
These curves show no larger differences for the weighting functions as the
standard weighting curves in the ISO 5349-2. But the measurements of
equal-vibration level contours for hand-arm and especially for whole-body
vibrations, which are found in the literature, are measured with different
measuring methods which probably bias the measured data. For a better
comparability and for minimizing the influence of the measuring parameters
on the result, an adaptive interleaved measurement should be used for future
investigations. Furthermore, a separate analysis of petrol- and diesel-models
increases the correlation coefficients significantly. The different judgements
for the steering-wheel and seat vibrations of petrol and diesel models are
not exclusively explained with changes of the spectral parameters for the
steering-wheel and seat vibrations. In this study just frequency (spectral) depending parameters are used but it is not precluded that also time depending
parameters are needed for a full description of the subjective ratings for the
seat and the steering-wheel vibrations, as well. Therefore multi-dimensional
or combined parameters, which include a combination of frequency and time
depending properties, are needed to get a full description of subjective car
vibration quality assessments. Some clues for such an approach are proposed in different literature studies for the discomfort caused by a combined
exposure of sound and vibration from the aerospace section (for example,
Dempsey et al., 1978). They suggest a parameter called DISC which is
a combined parameter of the discomfort caused by sound and by vibration
separately.
By the way, more knowledge and basic experiments on the perception of
vibrations on real cushioned seats like a car seat are important to find more
and better parameters for the description of the judgement behavior. It is
not possible to generalize the knowledge of the basic experiments (like in
Chapter 3) for the applications inside a car or on a (cushioned) car seat
due to many facts: on the one hand the vibrations inside a car are not only
artificially sinusoidal but also broadband vibration signals and on the other
hand real car seats are cushioned and therefore the frequency-characteristics
of the seat and the characteristics of the subject, who sits on it, have maybe
an influence on the perception of vibrations. It would be very advantageous
to know the properties of the vibration signals which are fundamental for
the subjective perception of vibration in detail to understand and to describe the discrepancy between basic knowledge and special applications.
164
Therefore basic experiments, like perception thresholds and just noticeable

level differences, are repeated on a real cushioned car seat in Chapter 5.
Furthermore, experiment with broadband vibration signals are conducted,
as well. With such experiments the influence of simple parameters, like the
vibration level or an additional audible cue, on the quality judgements of
the seat vibrations are investigated in the laboratory. For the description of
the perception threshold on a real car seat a vibration parameter is needed
which takes into account the vibrations in all three directions for all transduced vibrations, like the vibration total value. The reason for this is that
a car seat is a single-input multiple-output system which features vibrations
in almost all three axes even though just an axial excitation is used. The
position of the perception threshold significantly depends on the used seat
thence considerable differences exist between the results on a rigid seat and
on a real cushioned car seat (Chapter 3.5 and 5.3). In contrast to this, the
just noticeable differences in level (JNDL) seem to be independent of the
used seat. Measurements on a rigid seat (Chapter 3.6.1) and on a car seat
(Chapter 5.4) exhibit that level differences of about 1.5 dB are detectable
at a reference level of about 100 dB. The JNDLs are also independent of
frequency in a range from 5 to 80 Hz but there is a light dependence on
the level which is shown in the literature. This level dependence is comparable with results from the psychoacoustics, where the JNDLs show a light
level dependence, as well. Just a few data are found in the literature for
these measurements but they validate the findings of this study (Baumann,
2001b; Morioka & Griffin, 2000). Additionally, there are no differences between highly trained and untrained subjects.
Moreover, in another experiment the dependence of the level on the subjective ratings can be verified in the laboratory. The subjective ratings
of the subjective-testers decrease with increasing acceleration level of the
seat vibrations. Furthermore, differences in the judgement behavior of the
participants (subjective-testers) are for the petrol- and diesel-engine cars
observable like in the real car during a testing-session (Chapter 4.4.1 and
5.5). The judgement behaviors show no considerable difference between
the testing-session in a real diesel car and in the laboratory. But there are
significant differences for the petrol cars. The reason for this is probably
affected due to differences in the spectra (frequency characteristics as well
as distribution of the vibrations in all three axes) of the used signals in the
real petrol car and in the laboratory. The interindividual differences between
the four testers could be explained by individual just noticeable differences
in level. A level difference of more than 1 JNDL but less than 2 JNDL leads
to a change in the subjective rating of the seat vibration of about 1 categorical unit for the diesel and petrol cars in the laboratory. These results show
165
that the level range for the seat vibrations, which are denoted with a good
or a poor subjective rating, is very small. Furthermore, the experiment of
the dependence of booming noise on the subjective rating of the seat vibrations in Chapter 5 indicates, that different cues (like sound) influence the
subjective comfort and quality assessment according to vibrations.
The most existing standards, which take into account either the sound or
the vibration, are based on mono-sensorial inputs but the human body is
usually exposed to multi-sensorial inputs (stimuli), especially vibro-acoustic
stimuli (sound and vibrations). These different cues could interact with or
influence the perception of each other. Some clues are found in the literature
(for example, Fleming & Griffin, 1975; Meloni, 1991; Howarth & Griffin,
1990; Paulsen & Kastka, 1995; Bellmann, 1999). Therefore the interaction
of sound and seat vibrations with narrow band and broadband vibration
signals must be investigated in the future, as well. Finally, this study shows
that better standards are needed for improved designs that would increase
comfort and reduce the experienced annoyance from excessive vibrations.
Additionally, not only knowledge about the perception of vibration in more
than one direction is missing but also data for the combined perception
of sound and vibration. Moreover, knowledge about basic experiments on
the perception of vibration would help to understand the effects in special
applications in practice, like the subjective (dis-) comfort caused by seat and
steering-wheel vibrations in cars, but it does not substitute measurements
in special locations like in the passenger cabin of a vehicle. Therefore it is
necessary to define multi-sensorial vibro-acoustic limits for special locations
with the specification of the relevant criterion stating with which probability
a specified effect is prevented by the limit.
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Appendix A
Supplements for the vibration
standards
ii
Appendix A
Tab. A.1: Guide for the application of frequency-weighting curves for principal
weightings defined in ISO 2631-1 (1997).
Frequency
weighting
Health
Wk
z-axis,
Comfort
seat
surface
z-axis,
Perception
seat
surface z-axis,
standing vertical recumbent
z-axis,
Motion
sickness
seat
surface z-axis,
standing
(except head)
x/y/z-axes, feet
(sitting)
Wd
x-axis,
seat
surface y-axis,
x-axis,
surface
seat
y-axis,
seat surface
seat
surface
x/y-axes, standing horizontal
x-axis,
surface
seat
y-axis,
seat
surface
x/y-axes,
standing
recumbent
y/z-axes, seat
back
Wf
vertical
Supplements for the vibration standards
iii
10
Wk
Wd
Wf
Frequency Weightings [dB]
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0.016
0.063
0.25
16 31.5 63 125 250
Frequency [Hz]
Fig. A.1: Frequency weighting curves for principal weightings defined in VDI
2057-2 (1987) and ISO 2631-1 (1997).
Kx = Ky
KZ = 100
140 = 100
130
50
1,6
90
0,8
0,4
3,15
1,6
1,6
0,8
0,4
0,8
0,4
0,2
0,2
0,1
0,1
70
6,3
3,15
0,2
80
12,5
6,3
6,3
3,15
100
25
12,5
12,5
110
50
25
25
120
KB = 100
50
x,yaxis base curve
0,1
zaxis base curve
combineddirection
criteria curve
60
1
10
100
10
Frequency [Hz]
100
10
100
Fig. A.2: Equivalent-comfort contours and multiplying factors after VDI 20572 (1987) for the description of vibrations with magnitudes above the standard
perception threshold.
iv
Appendix A
Fig. A.3:
Position
of the accelerometers
(triaxial)
on
the
shaker-table (P), on
the seat surface (S)
and at the backrest
(B) of a real car
seat defined in ISO
10326-1 (1992).
Tab. A.2: Frequency weighting for x-,y- and z-axis whole-body vibration for calculating the Vibration Dose Value (VDV) defined in BS 6841 (1987a).
Frequency [Hz]
z-axis
x/y-axes
0.5
0.63
0.8
1
1.25
1.6
2
2.5
3.15
4
5
6.3
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.63
0.8
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.64
0.5
0.4
0.32
Frequency [Hz]
z-axis
x/y-axes
8
10
12.5
16
20
2.5
31.5
40
50
63
80
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.64
0.5
0.4
0.32
0.25
0.2
0.25
0.2
0.16
0.125
0.100
0.080
0.064
0.050
0.040
0.032
0.025
Supplements for the vibration standards
Tab. A.3: Root-mean-square accelerations corresponding to estimated Vibration

Dose Values of 15 m/s1.75 defined in BS 6841 (1987a).
Frequency
Hz
0.5
0.63
0.8
1
1.25
1.6
2
2.5
3.15
4
5
6.3
8
10
12.5
16
20
25
31.5
40
50
63
80
z-axis vibration
1s
26.78
26.78
26.78
26.78
26.78
26.78
26.78
21.43
17.01
13.39
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
13.39
16.74
21.09
26.78
33.48
42.18
53.57
1 min
9.62
9.62
9.62
9.62
9.62
9.62
9.62
7.70
6.11
4.81
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
4.81
6.02
7.58
9.62
12.03
15.16
19.25
1h
3.46
3.46
3.46
3.46
3.46
3.46
3.46
2.77
2.19
1.73
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.73
2.16
2.72
3.46
4.32
5.45
6.92
x- and y-axis vibration

8h
2.06
2.06
2.06
2.06
2.06
2.06
2.06
1.64
1.30
1.03
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
1.03
1.28
1.62
2.06
2.57
3.24
4.11
1s
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
10.71
13.39
16.87
21.43
26.79
33.80
42.86
53.57
66.96
85.71
107.14
133.93
168.75
214.28
267.86
337.50
428.57
1 min
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
3.85
4.81
6.06
7.70
9.62
12.14
15.40
19.25
24.06
30.80
38.50
48.12
60.13
76.99
96.24
121.27
153.99
1h
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.38
1.73
2.18
2.76
3.46
4.36
5.53
6.92
8.64
11.06
13.83
17.29
21.79
27.66
34.58
43.57
55.33
8h
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
1.03
1.30
1.64
2.06
2.59
3.29
4.11
5.14
6.58
8.22
10.28
12.95
16.45
20.56
25.91
32.90
vi
Appendix A
Tab. A.4: Ranges of multiplying factors to specify satisfactory magnitudes of

building vibration with respect to human response. These factors have been applied to the basic curves shown in Fig. 1.9 in Chapter 1.1.3 (adapted from ISO
2631-2, 1989).
Place
Critical working areas

(for example some
hospital operatingtheaters, some precision
laboratories, etc.)
Residential
Time
Continuous
or intermittent
vibration
Transient vibration
excitation with several occurrences per
day
Day
1
Day
2 to 4
30 to 90
Night
1.4
1.4 to 20
60 to 128
90 to 128
Night
Day
Office
Night
Day
Workshop
Night
Appendix B
Supplements for the simulator
B.1 Vibration-Floor
Fig. B.1: Supplement for Fig. 2.10. Comparison of the acceleration levels on
various points of the vibration-floor for 31.5, 63, 160 and 200 Hz.
viii
Appendix B
B.2 Sound & Vibration Reproduction System

Optimization of the SVRS First of all, the simulator was iterative optimized by changing of the filter coefficients and by using two professional
tester from the car industry. For the validation of the system a test was
made with these two testers by using real vibro-acoustic recordings of the
steering-wheel and seat vibration, as well as the interior sound from five
different vehicles. The professional testers judge the quality of the seat and
steering-wheel vibrations, as well as the booming noise simultaneously to
the recordings in the real cars. Those testing-sessions were repeated on
c in the laboratory several
the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
times over a period of one year to investigate if the judgement behaviour of
the tester change. The order of the signals was randomized in contrast to
the real assessment situation in these cars. The results of both testers are
statistically not significantly different from the assessments in the real vehicles. Additionally, both testers show almost similar judgement behaviours
which is confirmed with statistical tests. Additionally the subjective rating
behavior of both testers does not differ over a period of one year which
is confirmed with statistical tests. Therefore, it is possible to say that the
used subjective testers give constant and repeatable results. Additionally,
a facsimile reproduction of the vibro-acoustic recordings in different cars is
c.
possible with the usage of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
c
Tab. B.1: Physical properties of the PU-foam (Diepoelast 2.2
from PUR Service GmbH & Co. KG) which is used for the Sound & Vibration Reproduction
c
System
.
Basic quantity
Value
Unit
Dynamic test
Density
stat. elasticity modulus
stat. shearing modulus
dyn. elasticity modulus
dyn. shearing modulus
breaking strenght
mech. lost factor
workspace (force per area)
200
0.07 - 0.4
0.08
0.07 - 0.4
0.08
0.5
0,23
0 - 0.025
Kg/m3
N/mm2
N/mm2
N/mm2
N/mm2
N/mm
N/mm2
DIN 53420
according to DIN
according to DIN
according to DIN
according to DIN
DIN 53455-6-4
DIN 53513
53513
53513
53513
53513
Supplements for the simulator
ix
c
Tab. B.2: Features of the Sound and Vibration Reproduction System
.
Features
Vibration
Sound
Frequency range
10 to 500 Hz
20 to 12 kHz
Dynamic
0,003 m/s2 to 3 m/s2
depends on the used

loudspeaker systems
Initiation direction
x-, y- and z-axis, theoretical

all three rotational axis
Payload
max. 250 Kg
Coupling elements
via base plate and seat surface
Transformer
Electro-dynamic
Headphones, flexural
wave loudspeaker +
subwoofer
Special features
removable, flexible seats
Headphone
Subwoofer
headphone
pre-amplifier
Acoustics
Steering - wheel
digital filter
(Sony TA -E 2000 ESD)
lowpass
main amplifier
(Yamaha P2100)
PC
D/A converter
digital filter
main amplifier
(Yamaha P2100)
Shaker
(SQLab II Dic. 20
output -modul )
y
digital filter
main amplifier
(Yamaha P2100)
Vibrationpad
Vibration
c
Fig. B.2: Control-diagram of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
.
Appendix C
List of results
This section contains results of the experiments from Chapter 3 to 5 which
are not listed in the current chapters.
C.1 Experiments on the perception of vibration

The seat-to-head transmissibility is measured for two subjects (Chapter 3.4.2).
The input signal is a sinusoidal (vertical) vibration with a frequency which
varies in 1/3rd octave-steps from 5 to 100 Hz. The acceleration level of
the input signal is constant LV ib = 95 dB. The reference position (input)
is measured and controlled at the seat surface (area between the body and
the chair, position cushion in Fig.2.4) with an accelerometer cushion MMF
KB103SV (triaxial). The output signal is measured at the right mastoid (acceleration level in all three directions). The just vertical vibrations at the
seat surface (input) are transformed into vibrations in all three directions on
the mastoid. Therefore, with these two vibration signals the seat-to-head
transmissibility is calculated using the cross-spectral density methods with
square root of the ratio of the output to the input power spectra using
Eq. C.1 (e.g., described for a single-input multiple-output system in Griffin,
1990).
"
Goo (f )
H(f ) =
Gii (f )
# 12
(C.1)
List of Results
xi
with
Goo (f )
Gii (f )
= Power spectrum of the output

= Power spectrum of the input
The results of the measured seat-to-head transmissibility of the two participating subjects is plotted in Fig. C.1. A magnitude of 0 dB indicates
that the input and output magnitudes are equal. The curves for the two
participating subjects look similar. The magnitude of the transfer functions decrease with increasing frequency. At 5 Hz the magnitude is about
6 dB. That means that the measured vibrations on the mastoid (output) are
higher than the transmitted vibrations from the seat surface to the human
body (input). It is just briefly noted that some literature data are summarized in Griffin (1990) for the variations in the transmission of vertical seat
vibrations to the head. These results show similar curves to the measured
data in Fig. C.1.
Tab. C.1: Correlation coefficients the individual sensitivity of the subjects - measured perception thresholds at different frequencies - for vertical whole-body vibrations and objective parameters which are calculated from the individual seat
pressure contributions during the measurements.
Parameter
pmean
pmax
contact size
mean(| 5 p|)
max(| 5 p|)
pmean
pmax
contact size
mean(| 5 p |)
max(| 5 p |)
5 Hz
6.3 Hz
8 Hz
10 Hz
12.5 Hz
16 Hz
31.5 Hz
63 Hz
125 Hz
200 Hz
1.00*
0.66*
-0.11
0.64*
0.47
-0.57
-0.25
0.27
0.22
-0.31
0.51
-0.17
-0.11
0.34
0.24
0.66*
1.00*
-0.18
0.50
0.80*
-0.28
0.24
0.28
0.23
0.06
0.20
-0.04
-0.11
0.32
0.45
-0.11
-0.18
1.00*
-0.75*
-0.45
-0.15
-0.63*
-0.30
0.26
-0.61*
0.07
0.56
0.53
0.07
0.09
0.64*
0.50
-0.75*
1.00*
0.73*
-0.34
0.33
0.35
-0.04
0.26
0.14
-0.26
-0.31
0.36
0.25
0.47
0.80*
-0.45
0.73*
1.00*
-0.23
0.45
0.43
0.22
0.30
-0.04
0.03
-0.19
0.33
0.40
xii
Appendix C
10
Subject 1
Subject 2
Magnitude [dB]
10
20
30
40
12.5
20
31.5
Frequency [Hz]
50
80
125
Fig. C.1: Measured transfer function or seat-to-head transmissibility of two subjects between the vibrations which are transmitted from the buttock (position
cushion in Fig.2.4) into the human body (fundament) to the (right) mastoid in
a frequency range from 5 to 100 Hz.
Tab. C.2: Correlation coefficients between the personal data of the subjects and
the individual sensitivity of the subjects - measured perception thresholds at different frequencies - for vertical whole-body vibrations.
Parameter
Gender
Body-size
Weight
Gender
Body-size
Weight
RI
BMI
Age
5 Hz
6.3 Hz
8 Hz
10 Hz
12.5 Hz
16 Hz
31.5 Hz
63 Hz
125 Hz
200 Hz
1.00*
-0.52*
-0.48
0.01
-0.23
-0.17
0.04
0.24
0.19
0.23
0.30
-0.10
-0.19
-0.16
-0.34
0.09
-0.52*
1.00*
0.73*
-0.26
0.19
0.21
-0.08
-0.34
-0.31
-0.06
-0.27
-0.13
0.34
0.16
0.30
0.23
-0.48
0.73*
1.00*
0.46
0.81*
0.43
-0.02
-0.39
-0.24
0.06
-0.26
0.16
0.60*
0.48
0.49*
0.37
RI
0.01
-0.26
0.46
1.00*
0.90*
0.38
0.06
-0.12
0.07
0.18
-0.01
0.40
0.46
0.48
0.36
0.29
BMI
Age
-0.23
0.19
0.81*
0.90*
1.00*
0.46
0.03
-0.27
-0.07
0.15
-0.13
0.34
0.60*
0.55*
0.48
0.38
-0.17
0.21
0.43
0.38
0.46
1.00*
-0.18
-0.22
-0.14
-0.24
-0.27
0.27
0.43
0.67*
0.71*
0.75
List of Figures
1.1
Electro-dynamic exciter, shaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2
Frequency ranges of different vibrating systems . . . . . . .
1.3
Typical acceleration-frequency-characteristics of an electrodynamic exciter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4
Equivalent circuit of an electro-dynamic transducer and an

equivalent mechanical circuit of an moving-element . . . . . 11
1.5
Model of a single degree-of-freedom damped self-oscillating

mass-spring system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.6
The absolute and relative transmissibility for a viscous-damped

isolation system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.7
Resonance curves for different fraction of critical damping

of a constrained motion of an excited system . . . . . . . . 15
1.8
Basicentric axes of the human body . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.9
Building vibration x/y- and z-axis base curve (perception

thresholds) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.10 Combined-direction criteria curves with various multiplying

factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.11 Health guidance caution zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.12 Weber-quotient and Weber-law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.13 Typical psychometric function for a psychophysical measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.14 Schematic overview of an adaptive AFC 1 up - 2 down measuring method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.15 Schematic view of an interleaved measuring method . . . . . 38
1.16 Absolute thresholds of RA-receptors and the appendant psychometric function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
xiv
LIST OF FIGURES
1.17 Simple theoretical model of the resonance frequencies fR of

the human body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1.18 Cross-section of skin showing the dermis and epidermis . . . 44
1.19 Characteristical spiking rate patterns of the four types susceptible sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.1
Schematic views of the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.2
Picture of the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.3
Control diagram of the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.4
Measuring positions on the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.5
Background vibrations on the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . 51
2.6
Background noise in the laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.7
Vibrations on the vibration-floor in all three directions . . . . 54
2.8
Transfer function of the vibration-floor . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.9
Comparison of the vertical spectra on the vibration-floor . . 56
2.10 Comparison of the acceleration levels on various positions of

the vibration floor for 8 and 16 Hz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.11 Schematic view of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System 58
2.12 Photo of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System . . . 59
2.13 Another photo of the Sound & Vibration Reproduction System 60
c technology . . . . . . . 60
2.14 Flexural wave loudspeaker in NXT
3.1
Measurement set-up for basic experiments on the perception

of vertical whole-body vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.2
Measured and fitted psychometric functions for 14 subjects . 67
3.3
Perception thresholds for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibration from the literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.4
Comparison of results for the perception thresholds at 5, 12.5

and 16 Hz with different stimulus durations . . . . . . . . . 71
3.5
Perception thresholds for 5, 12.5 and 16 Hz with different

stimulus durations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.6
Measured and fitted measured 70.7% point of the psychometric function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.7
Perception thresholds from 16 to 200 Hz without a masking

sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
LIST OF FIGURES
xv
3.8
Difference spectra between the emitted sound of the vibrationfloor and the background noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.9
Comparison between perception thresholds measured with

and without a masking audible noise . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.10 Interindividual differences of Fig. 3.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

3.11 Measured perception threshold (mean and median values) in
a frequency range from 5 to 200 Hz . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.12 Individual perception threshold in a frequency range from 5
to 200 Hz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.13 Same figure as Fig. 3.11 with data from literature . . . . . . 85
3.14 Just noticeable differences in level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.15 The absolute difference thresholds (I) in level . . . . . . . 89
3.16 Individual just noticeable differences in frequency of six subjects 91
3.17 Measured just noticeable differences in frequency with regression curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.18 Equal-vibration level contours with different starting conditions 95
3.19 Intra- and interindividual differences of the measured equalvibration level contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
3.20 Equal-vibration level contours with literature data . . . . . . 97
3.21 Measured perception threshold in comparison to equal-vibration
level contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.1
Measuring positions for seat and steering-wheel vibrations in

a car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.2
Typical averaged spectra for seat vibrations . . . . . . . . . 110
4.3
Illustration of a spectrally unweighted and weighted spectra

for seat vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.4
Typical averaged spectra for steering-wheel vibrations . . . . 112
4.5
Middle class cars: Correlation between unweighted and weighted

z-acceleration and subjective assessments of seat vibrations . 114
4.6
Same figure as in Fig. 4.5 for spectrally unweighted and

weighted vibration total values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.7
Same figure as in Fig. 4.6 in a narrow frequency band from

10 to 35 Hz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.8

weighted vibration total values for upper middle class . . . . 119
xvi
LIST OF FIGURES
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7

weighted vibration total values in a narrow frequency range. 120
weighted vibration total values for small class . . . . . . . . 122
weighted vibration total values in a narrow band frequency
range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Middle class cars: Correlations between unweighted and weighted
vibration total values and subjective ratings for steeringwheel vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Same figure as in Fig. 4.12 but the objective parameters are
calculated in the limited frequency range 20 to 35 Hz . . . . 126
Same figure as in Fig. 4.12 but for the upper class cars . . . 128
Same figure as Fig. 4.13 but for the upper class cars . . . . 129
Same figure as in Fig. 4.12 but for the small class cars . . . 130
Schematic view of the vibration-pad . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Measurement set-up for psychophysical measurements on a
real car seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perception thresholds for vertical sinusoidal whole-body vibrations on a real car seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perception thresholds from Fig. 5.3 in comparison to literature data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Just noticeable differences in level on a real car seat . . . . .
Relation between the level of the seat vibration and the averaged appendant subjective rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schematic view of the tasks for experiment 4 . . . . . . . .
136
137
142
144
144
147
150
A.1 Frequency weighting curves for principal weightings . . . . .

A.2 Equivalent-comfort contours and multiplying factors . . . . .
A.3 Position of accelerometers on and at a real car seat after ISO
10326-1 (1992). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iii
iii
B.1 Supplement for Fig. 2.10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B.2 Control-diagram of Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
vii
ix
C.1 Measured transfer function between buttock (seat surface)

to the (right) mastoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xii
iv
List of Tables
1.1
Most relevant parameters for vibration time signals (adapted from

Meloni (1991). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
1.2
Approximate magnitudes of overall (rms) vibration total values in public transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.3
Response groupings for transformed up-down strategies . . . 36
1.4
Resonance frequencies fR of the human body with an impairment of health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.1
Anthropometric and other personal (exogenous and endogenous) data of the subjects for Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.1
Middle class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective

and objective data for the driver seat vibrations . . . . . . . 117
4.2
Upper middle class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective and objective data for driver seat vibrations . . . . . 121
4.3
Small class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective

and objective data for driver seat vibrations . . . . . . . . . 124
4.4
Middle class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective

and objective data for steering-wheel vibrations . . . . . . . 128
4.5
Lifted middle class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective and objective data for steering-wheel vibrations . . . 129
4.6
Small class car: Correlation coefficients between subjective

and objective data for steering-wheel vibrations . . . . . . . 131
5.1
Number of subjects separated by the different experiments . 138
5.2
Anthropometric and other personal (exogenous and endogenous) data of the subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
xviii
LIST OF TABLES
A.1 Guide for the application of frequency-weighting curves for

principal weighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
A.2 Frequency weighting for x-,y- and z-axis whole-body vibration for calculating the VDV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iv
A.3 Root-mean-square accelerations corresponding to estimated

vibration dose values of 15 m/s1.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A.4 Ranges of multiplying factors to specify satisfactory magnitudes of building vibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vi
B.1 Physical properties of the PU-foam which is used for the

c . . . . . . . . . . viii
Sound & Vibration Reproduction System
c
B.2 Features of the Sound and Vibration Reproduction System
ix
C.1 Correlation coefficients between the personal data parameters

which characterized the perception of whole-body vibrations.
xi
C.2 Correlation coefficients between the personal data and the

measured perception thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xii
Danksagung
(Acknowledgement)
Herrn Prof. Dr. Volker Mellert danke ich f
ur die Ermoglichung und die freie
Gestaltung dieser Arbeit in der Arbeitsgruppe Akustik. Herrn Dr. Reinhard
Weber danke ich f
ur die administrativen Arbeiten wahrend der Zusammenarbeit mit der Volkswagen AG, sowie die zum Teil kontroversen Diskussionen wahrend des Projektes ohne die meine Arbeit nicht in dieser Form
entstanden ware. Herrn Prof. Dr. Dr. Birger Kollmeier danke ich f
ur seine
Arbeit als Zweitgutachter.
Ein besonderer Dank gilt der Forschungsabteilung Akustik der Volkswagen
AG in Wolfsburg f
ur die Erm
oglichung des Forschungsprojektes Untersuchung der Wirkung von K
orperschall (Vibrationen) und Luftschall auf den
Komfort im Fahrzeug (Subjektives Zusammenwirken von akustischen und
vibratorischen Signalen) und der uneingeschrankten Verwertung der Ergebnisse dieses Forschungsprojektes f
ur meine Dokotorarbeit (Kapitel 4 und 5).
Insbesondere mochte ich mich bei Peter Hillebrand und Wolfgang Sollig von
der VW AG f
ur Ihre uneingeschrankte Kooperation in diesem Projekt bedanken. Auch wenn die Zusammenarbeit am Anfang nicht ganz reibungslos
verlaufen ist, danke ich Euch f
ur die zahlreichen Diskussionen und Hilfestellungen bei den zahlreichen Messungen, die diese Arbeit erst moglich gemacht
haben.
Ein groer Dank geht an Ingo Baumann und Roland Kruse aus meinem
B
uro, die mir stets zur Seite standen (vor allem wahrend des VW Projektes) und mich tatkraftig im Projekt mit Berechnungen von objektiven
Parametern, Kaffee und vielem mehr unterst
utzt haben. Ich danke den Mitarbeiter des Instituts f
ur technische und angewandte Physik GmbH (itap) f
ur
Ihre Ratschlage und die uneingeschrankte Nutzung ihrer Gerate. Insbesondere danke ich Hermann Remmers f
ur die ausgiebigen Diskussionen gerade
bei technischen Fragen. Auerdem danke ich Ihm, dass er mir mit Rat und
Tat bei der Konstruktion und dem Bau der Simulatoren hilfreich zur Seite
stand. Ein groer Dank geht auch an Gizem Nazim Forta, der mir nicht nur
bei der Vermessung des Vibration-Floors geholfen hat, sondern mich auch
bei den psychophysikalischen Messungen tatkrafig unterst
utzt hat. Auerdem bedanke ich mich bei Ihm f
ur sein unerm
udliches Korrektur-Lesen. Ich
mochte mich auch bei der Arbeitsgruppe Akustik f
ur Tips und Anregungen,
sowie zahlreichen Diskussionen bedanken.
Ich danke Jorg Damaschke und Stephan Ewert f
ur die kreativen Denkanstoe
in den gemeinsamen Stunden an der Uni und vor allen Dingen in der Freizeit.
Ebenso gilt mein Dank all meinen zahlreichen Versuchspersonen, die stets
bereit waren sich den zum Teil nicht ganz angenehmen Ganzkorpervibrationen
auszusetzen und dabei stets freundlich die Fragen beantworteten: Welche
gesp
urte Vibration war starker ? oder In welchem Intervall hast Du eine
Vibration gesp
urt ?
Bajo Meenen danke ich f
ur seinen technischen Support bei so vielen kleinen
und groen Problemen.
Ich danke meine Eltern f
ur die uneingeschrankte Unterst
utzung. Last but
not least, gilt mein besonderer Dank meiner Frau, Christine Bellmann, f
ur
ihr unerm
udliches Korrektur-Lesen, was sicherlich nicht immer eine einfache Aufgabe war. Auerdem danke ich Ihr daf
ur, dass sie mich (in so
macher kleinen Krise) uneingeschrankt unterst
utzt hat wahrend der Entstehung dieser Arbeit. Ferner konnte sie mich dazu bringen einige Dinge etwas
ruhiger und geordneter anzugehen.
Curriculum Vitae
Name :
Michael A. Bellmann
Day of birth :
Place of birth :
Nationality :
20th November 1972

Brake (Unterweser), Germany
German
School and professional career :

8/80-7/84
8/84-7/85
8/85-7/92
04.06.92
6/92-9/93
10/93-6/99
22.06.99
Since 7/99
Since 9/99
Since 01/2001
06/99 - 03/02
Elementary school: Eichendorff-Grundschule in Brake

Orientierungsstufe Nord in Brake
Secondary school: Gymnasium in Brake
Abitur (general qualification for university entrance)
Civil service at the Lebenshilfe e.V. in Brake (School
for mentally disabled persons)
Student in Physics at the Carl von Ossietzky University
in Oldenburg
Diploma in Physics
Doctor thesis in the acoustics workgroup (department
of physics) at the University of Oldenburg
Research associate at the University of Oldenburg
Associated in the EU Graduate School NeuroSensorics
Project with Volkswagen AG

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Perception of Whole-Body Vibrations:

From basic experiments to effects of seat and

Vom Fachbereich Physik der

Erstreferent: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. V. Mellert

Parameters which influence the perception thresholds . .

4 Objective description of comfort inside cars

5 Psychophysical measurements on a car seat

Summary and conclusion

A Supplements for the vibration standards

Evaluation and production of vibration

Hearing of low frequency sound (sound below 20 Hz called infrasound) with

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

art about existing international and national standards on the perception of

Different ways to produce vibrations

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

Fig. 1.2: Frequency ranges of

mechanical elements are transduced into electronical elements in Fig. 1.4.

Fig. 1.3: Acceleration as a function of frequency if the current in coil is constant

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

Fig. 1.4: The equivalent circuit of an electro-dynamic transducer (left) and an

a short overview about the vibration isolation mechanism is presented in

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

However, under physical aspects only a finite isolation is possible. Therefore

dynamical elastic modulus

The spring constant depends on dynamic elastic modulus (E-modulus),

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

critical damping = d/dc (with dc = 2 c m) (Veit, 1996). The phase

Whole-body vibration standards

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

and uncertainty has been reflected in the definition of ambiguous evaluation

mechanischer Schwingungen auf den Menschen in German

Part 1: General requirements

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

Vibration Dose Value

estimated Vibration Dose Value

nearly all present studies. Whereas an acceleration level of LV ib = 140 dB

= weighting factor for different conditions

Fig. 1.8: The orientation of

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

= frequency weighting factor for the ith center frequency of the

If the vibration signal includes vibrational components in more than one

aV = (kx2 a2wx + ky2 a2wy + kz2 a2wz ) 2

= weighted rms accelerations with respect to the orthogonal

The VDV is a method of assessing the cumulative effects (i.e. dose) of

Rotational vibration exposures should be assessed in terms of translational

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

Acceleration Level [dB]

x,yaxis base curve

Acceleration Level [dB]

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

weighted acceleration aV [m/s2 ]

(Dis-) comfort categories

Guidelines for the effect of whole-body vibration on health is provided in ISO

in ISO 2631-1 (1997).

1.1. Evaluation and production of vibration

= equivalent vibration magnitude

Psychophysics and sensoric physiology

The boundary of the application of the Weber-law is around the absolute

1.2. Psychophysics and sensoric physiology

Absolute threshold The absolute threshold can be explained with such a

ory is applicable in the sensory decision theory or signal detection theory

1.2. Psychophysics and sensoric physiology