Assessment of Passenger Ride Comfort during Vertical Vibration of Mid-Size Saloon and Off-Road Vehicles on Asphalt Roads

Ride comfort in road vehicles is related to vehicle vibration levels and the perception of passenger fatigue. In this study, vibration in vertical direction on the seat and floor are measured to characterise the ride comfort based on standard formulae and frequency analysis. A mid-size saloon vehicle and an off-road vehicle are driven on smooth, spalled and coarse asphalt road surfaces. To assess the vertical vibrations transmitted to the passengers, vibration dose values, Kurtosis, frequency response functions and power spectral densities of the compartment recorded signals were evaluated. Seat effective amplitude transmissibility value based on vibration RMS and vibration dose values were also evaluated. The results indicate that the vibration dose value increases in proportional to the vehicle speed and road roughness.