Quantifying Patient Vibration Patterns During Aeromedical Evacuation Aboard the C-130H
Abstract
The overall purpose of this flight test program was to collect human engineering data on the C-130 to characterize and assess the exposure of patients to prolonged vibration during aeromedical evacuation (AE). The specific platform addressed in this report is the four-bladed C-130H owned and operated by the 123rd Airlift Wing, Kentucky Air National Guard, Louisville, KY. The project was funded by the Defense Health Program (DHP). The Remote Vibration Environment Recorder (REVER) was used to collect tri-axial acceleration data at the back/pelvis interfaces, chest, head, and leg of the supine litter patient, and at the seat pan, seat back, chest, and leg of the seated patient, located in the forward, middle, and aft cabin sections. Two litter tiers were included. Flight conditions included Taxi, Take Off (TO), Climb from TO, Level Flight at 7K, 15K, and 21K ft MSL, Climb to each altitude, Descent, and Landing. All measurement sites showed a major spectral peak in the three directions around 68 Hz, that was associated with the blade passage frequency of the aircraft. The highest vibration occurred in the forward cabin in the vicinity of the propeller plane. For both the litter and seated patients, the highest vibration tended to occur in the lateral direction of the aircraft. Unweighted overall accelerations were notably dampened at the chest and head as compared to the interface measurement sites. However, the weighted accelerations used to access comfort tended to be similar at all measurement sites, indicating similar levels of low frequency vibration contribution. For the healthy person, these contributions were considered being "not uncomfortable", in accordance with the existing exposure guidelines (ISO 2631-1T the comfort thresholds could be dramatically lower in the injured patient.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 22, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1091008
Entities
People
- Brittany L. Fouts
- David S. Burch
- Suzanne D. Smith
Organizations
- 711th Human Performance Wing