Vibration Test Laboratory
The ISVR Vibration Test Laboratory has a unique range of human-rated test facilities for experimental studies of human responses to whole-body vibration, motion and environment simulation, seat vibration, hand-transmitted vibration, and low-frequency oscillation. These facilities include a six-axis motion simulator, 1 metre vertical and 1 metre horizontal simulators, and an instrumented treadmill. These facilities, along with electrodynamic shakers, are used for dynamic and fatigue testing of components as well as human testing.
The vibration test laboratory is used not only for research within the ISVR and the wider University, but is also available with full technical support for commercial testing and applied research on behalf of outside companies or organisations through ISVR Consulting.
Six-Axis Motion Simulator
The Six-Axis Motion Simulator provides motion in all three translational axes (fore-and-aft, lateral, and vertical) and all three rotational axes (roll, pitch, and yaw). The moving platform is approximately 3 m × 2 m and can support payloads up to 1000 kg. It can accurately reproduce motions in six axes with very low levels of background vibration, waveform distortion, and cross-axis motion.
The simulator allows faithful reproduction of vehicle motion environments recorded in road, off-road, rail, marine and aerospace vehicles. The simulator is used for research on the relative importance of motion, noise, seating, and the thermal environment in vehicles and interactions between these factors. The effects of seat vibration on ride comfort, motion perception, seating dynamics, and postural stability are investigated for seated, standing and walking subjects.
It is also used for commercial testing of vehicle seats, including suspension seats.
Watch a short video showing motion simulator in a sports car
Simulation of transport environments: a car body on the Six-axis Motion Simulator
A car seat mounted on the 1 m vertical shaker ready for vibration testing at ISVR Consulting,
One-metre Vertical and One-metre Horizontal Vibrator
The Vertical and Horizontal single-axis human-rated electro-hydraulic vibrators are used to provide vertical and horizontal oscillation.
Both are capable of reproducing arbitrary time histories with peak-to-peak displacements up to 1 metre and peak accelerations up to 10 m/s-2 and with frequency content from 0 to 50 Hz. The platform of the vertical vibrator is 1 m × 1.5 m, and that of the horizontal vibrator is 1 m × 1.75 m.
The vibrator is used for fundamental and applied research in areas including human perception of vibration, postural stability, human body impedance, seat performance, and motion sickness.
These vibrators are used for testing seats for cars, trucks, off-road machinery, rail vehicles, marine craft and aerospace environments according to current standards or the specific requirements of the customer.
Watch a short video showing a suspension seat under test (2 min 14 s)
Kistler Gaitway Treadmill
The Kistler Gaitway instrumented treadmill is used for fundamental research into gait analysis and postural stability. It is used to provide a walking task for subjects exposed to whole-body vibration, for example on the six-axis motion simulator. Software automatically calculates more than 25 gait parameters of a human subject when walking on the treadmill. Commercially it can be used to study the effect of vibration and jolts of, for example, a person walking along the aisle of a train carriage or a corridor on ship.
Walking on the treadmill on a vibrating surface
The indenter rig
Indenter Rig
The indenter rig is used to measure the dynamic stiffness of seat cushions and the dynamic characteristics of suspension seat components such as dampers and springs.
Electrodynamic Shakers
The laboratory has a wide range of electrodynamic vibrators of varying displacements up to 50 mm. Smaller vibrators are suitable for hand-arm vibration studies while the larger vibrators are capable of supporting a person while applying a vibration.
All vibrators may be computer-controlled to reproduce arbitrary test motions as specified by the experimenter.
These electrodynamic vibrators are used for a wide variety of purposes including fundamental research into discomfort, measurements of the impedance of the body, measurements of the dynamic performance of seats and seat components, testing of the vibration isolation performance of gloves, and studies of the effects of vibration on the cardiovascular system.
They are used for dynamic and fatigue testing of components and equipment as well as human testing.
Testing an anti-vibration glove using an electrodynamic shaker
Contact us
ISVR Consulting is an Enterprise Unit linked to the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton. We work with a wide range of industrial and commercial clients, public bodies, and government agencies in the UK and Europe.
ISVR Consulting carries out testing and applied research on behalf of clients and has a wide range of specialist vibration, acoustical and audio instrumentation and test equipment.
Get in touch to find out more about our facilities and how we might be able to work with you.
Tel: +44 (0) 23 8059 2162 email: consulting@isvr.co.uk web: https://isvr.co.uk