Generalized measure of vibration exposure for helicopter pilots

Abstract

Helicopter pilots operate in a vibrating environment and the consequences vary depending on the affected body part. The usual method of evaluating the effects of vibration exposure is to calculate comfort levels as a result of whole body vibration. However, some other body parts are also adversely affected from vibration, such as hands and eyes, which in turn might degrade piloting quality. Therefore, a complete vibration assessment is necessary to reach a better estimation of pilot vibration exposure when comparing different configurations, tracking the changes during design and deciding on a safe flight envelope. This work presents a complete assessment by considering the vibrations on the seat surface, hand-grip of controls and vibration of the eye. As a result, the vibration measure includes comfort, handling and vision in a single formulation. The proposed measure is demonstrated by coupling a high-fidelity biodynamic pilot model to a helicopter aeroservoelastic model in a comprehensive simulation environment.