M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering) / The development of crashworthy seats for helicopters during the past three decades is discussed. The primary design criteria is mentioned and the disadvantages of crashworthy seats that are currently in use are highlighted. An hydraulic energy absorber which automatically compensates for the mass of the seat occupant was designed and a simulation model was developed. The concept for the control valve used was obtained from WARRICK [25]. Results of the simulations correlated well with those of WARRICK. A prototype of a mechanical/hydraulic accelerometer was designed, manufactured and tested. The results obtained from the experiments compared favourably with simulation values. The simulated and experimental results indicate that the concept of using an hydraulic energy absorber, in a crashworthy seat, is very satisfactory. Future crashworthy seat designs could be enhanced by incorporating this promising device.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:12314 |
| Date | 16 September 2014 |
| Creators | Coetzee, Gerhard |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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