Finite Element Analysis of Vibration Damping in Two-Wheeler Seats: Effects of Foam Density, Thickness, and Multilayer Configurations
| International Journal of Mechanical Engineering |
| © 2025 by SSRG - IJME Journal |
| Volume 12 Issue 7 |
| Year of Publication : 2025 |
| Authors : Vishwanath Mali, Ajit Bhosale |
10.14445/23488360/IJME-V12I7P103
How to Cite?
Vishwanath Mali, Ajit Bhosale, "Finite Element Analysis of Vibration Damping in Two-Wheeler Seats: Effects of Foam Density, Thickness, and Multilayer Configurations," SSRG International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 18-24, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488360/IJME-V12I7P103
Abstract:
The ride comfort of two-wheeler vehicles is significantly influenced by the design of the seat, particularly the seat foam thickness, density and structural configuration. Prolonged exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) in two-wheelers leads to rider discomfort and musculoskeletal injuries. This study presents a simulation-based investigation using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in ANSYS Workbench to assess the vibration-damping performance. The hyperelastic polyurethane foams, modelled using the Ogden formulation, were simulated under harmonic base excitation in the 1–50 Hz frequency range aligned with ISO 2631 standards corresponding to the human whole-body vibration sensitivity spectrum. Ten load cases were analysed, including variations in foam density (50–70 kg/m³), thickness (35–45 mm), and novel multilayer configurations. Results revealed that increasing density from 50 to 70 kg/m³ reduced transmissibility by over 60%, while increasing thickness from 35 mm to 45 mm nearly halved it. Multilayer structures with high-density base layers (70+60 kg/m³) lowered transmissibility to 0.44, outperforming single-layer foams by 13–18% through synergistic compliance-damping effects. This study establishes that optimised combinations of density, thickness, and multilayer design significantly enhance two-wheeler seat performance in terms of ride comfort and vibration damping.
Keywords:
Vibration damping, Finite Element Analysis, Polyurethane foam, Transmissibility, Multilayer seat design.
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