Study of human comfort under thermal and vibratory environment using physiological indices

• Besides the vibrations, passenger discomfort is influenced by various other factors such as, the environmental factors of noise, temperature, humidity and visual stimuli, etc. The discomfort can be measured both subjectively and objectively. Rammohan25 studied the influence of backrest support and handgrip contractions on acute metabolic, respiratory, and cardiovascular responses during exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV). In the present work, discomfort of passengers subjected to whole body random vibrations, environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and noise level variations by assessing their effect on various physiological parameters like, Pulse Rate, Respiration Rate, Galvanic Skin Response, Skin Temperature, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability and ECG values has been studied. The study was conducted on the three axes vibration simulator developed in the Laboratory, IIT Roorkee, India as a mock-up of a railway vehicle. The simulator room has a controlled temperature and humidity environment and its noise level can also be controlled. A BIOPAC system was used for data acquisition along with various modules for measuring physiological parameters. The mean and standard deviation of physiological parameters, possibly indicating the human comfort or discomforts for the 12 subject is found out. The design of experiment (ANOVA) was employed to quantify the relationships between measured responses and the input factors. The results show that some physiological parameters viz, pulse rate, SKT and HR show variation in vibration condition at 0.6 m/s2. It is also found that all the parameters affected by noise level and temperature show significant variation between no vibration condition and vibration condition.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Fysiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Physiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Controlled temperature

Environmental factors

Galvanic skin response

Heart rate variability

Heart rates

Human comforts

Input factors

Noise levels

Passenger discomfort

Physiological indices

Physiological parameters

Pulse rate

Railway vehicles

Random vibrations

Respiration rate

Skin temperatures

Standard deviation

Three axes

Vibration condition

Visual stimulus

Whole body

Whole-body vibrations

Electrophysiology

Heart

Physiological models

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