Special Equipment for Measurement of Mechanical Dynamic Properties of Emergency Escape Systems

摘要

A Center-of-Gravity/Inertia Meter and an anthropometric chair were designed and fabricated. Incorporated in a portable, integrated structure, the meter permits weighing a test object in two planes and then swinging the object as a pendulum in each of six positions to time the oscillation periods. From the weight and time measurements, a computer program derives the mass and center of gravity of the object and then its inertial properties, including the products of inertia and the principal moments of inertia with their directions. The anthropometric chair permits measurements of the sitting and standing heights and the functional reach of the 1st through the 99th percentile man. After the development of the fabricated meter with the capacity to measure test objects up to 1000 pounds, further study demonstrated the feasibility of designing similar meters with a capacity to handle objects up to 10,000 pounds. The relative merits of measuring techniques for the larger meters were summarized to serve as a guide in designing such meters according to the specific configuration of large crew-compartment escape systems. (Author)