Performance of the seat’s NSS in ameliorating the comfort level and health of the driver in various off-road vehicles

The comfort level and health of the driver in off-road vehicles including combat vehicles (CV), soil compactors (SC), and rice harvesters (RH) are very poor under low excitation frequencies. To ameliorate the comfort level and health of the driver of the CV, SC, and RH, a seat isolation using NSS (negative stiffness structure) has been researched and developed based on the dynamic model of these vehicles. The performance and stability of NSS in ameliorating the comfort level and heath of the driver between CV, SC, and RH have been evaluated and compared under various operation conditions. The investigation indicates that with using the passive seat isolation system, the comfort level and heath of the driver on CV is better than those of SC and RH. With the seat’s NSS applied, the comfort level and health of the driver on all CV, SC, and RH are strongly improved, especially with SC. However, the effectiveness and stability of NSS on off-road vehicles are different. Therefore, in each different off-road vehicle, NSS needs to be evaluated in detail to optimize its effectiveness as well as further enhance the off-road vehicle’s comfort level.