Numerical Analysis of the Impact of Vibration on the Lumbar Spine of the Driver

Abstract

The human body, as a complex biomechanical system, is daily exposed to oscillatory movements. Vibrations are observed as small displacements of points compared to the dimensions of the system. The body's sensitivity to vibration depends on many factors, such as body position, muscle tension, frequency, amplitude, and direction of vibration. Comfort is one of the important factors in the study of the quality of the vehicle. Exposure to vibrations over a long time can seriously and permanently damage some organs of the body. In this paper, the influence of vibrations on the lumbar part of the human body was investigated. Vibrations were determined experimentally while the vehicle was moving on the highway for the case of two different speeds. A 3D computer model of a lumbar spine was developed using CT scans. The acceleration values obtained by the experiment were the input values for the numerical analysis of the lumbar spine using the Ansys software package.