TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2001//
TI  - Evaluation of wheelchair drop seat crashworthiness
JO  - Medical engineering and physics
A1  - Bertocci, Gina
A1  - Ha, DongRan
A1  - van Roosmalen, Linda
A1  - Karg, P.
A1  - Deemer, Ernest
SP  - 249
EP  - 257
VL  - 23
IS  - 4
N2  - Wheelchair seating crash performance is critical to protecting wheelchair users who remain seated in their wheelchairs during transportation. Relying upon computer simulation and sled testing seat loads associated with a 20 g/48 kph (20 g/30 mph) frontal impact and 50th percentile male occupant were estimated to develop test criteria. Using a static test setup we evaluated the performance of various types of commercially available drop seats against the loading test criteria. Five different types of drop seats (two specimens each) constructed of various materials (i.e. plastics, plywood, metal) were evaluated. Two types of drop seats (three of the total 10 specimens) met the 16650 N (3750 lb) frontal impact test criteria. While additional validation of the test protocol is necessary, this study suggests that some drop seat designs may be incapable of withstanding crash level loads.
LA  - 
SN  - 1350-4533
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -