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Analysis and Optimisation of All Terrain Wheelchair
Analysis and Optimisation of All Terrain Wheelchair
Analysis and Optimisation of All Terrain Wheelchair
CITATION: Agarwal, S. and Gautam, S., "Analysis and optimization of All Terrain Wheelchair," SAE Technical Paper 2015-01-1368,
2015, doi:10.4271/2015-01-1368.
Abstract Introduction
An all-terrain wheelchair is a lever propelled wheelchair which India has about 20 million people with disabilities. Among the
enables an individual to drive on all terrains easily as the driving different types of disabilities, 11 million are locomotors disabled. The
mechanism is efficient, ergonomic and fast. It also increases the reach prevalence of locomotive disability is highest in the country -at 1,046
capabilities and social boundaries of disabled. The paper is divided per 100,000 people in the rural areas and 901 per 100,000 people in
into two parts. In the first part, a comparative study of push rim the urban population [1].
wheelchair and All-terrain Wheelchair (lever propelled) has been
done. In the second part, Optimization of this All-terrain Wheelchair A wheelchair (WC) is the catalyst to increased independence and
has been done. social integration. An appropriate wheelchair can serve to reduce
common problems such as pressure sores, the progression of
The comparison is done on various parameters such as peak velocity, deformities or contractures, and other secondary conditions such as
average velocity, acceleration, retardation, stroke frequency, spinal cord injuries.
reduction in effort, mechanical efficiency, obstacle climbing ability,
turning radius, the distance travelled per stroke, Pressure cuts and The need of the hour is to provide less-resourced disabled people an
burns caused during propelling the chair. Biomechanical testing is ergonomic and efficient wheelchair. This would increase the social
also done considering the heart rate and oxygen consumption level. radius of such people.
This information was used to determine the energy demand, which is
intrinsically connected to a wheelchair's mechanical efficiency. In the first part of the paper, a comparative study has been done on
ATW (all-terrain wheelchair) and push rim wheelchair based on
The optimization mainly focuses on ergonomics and efficiency of various performance characteristics by testing both the wheelchairs.
design. For this, the main emphasis was given on factors like the The second part of the paper focuses on optimization of the various
position of lever-drive system, configuration of wheel, seating, shortcomings of all-terrain wheelchair to enhance its performance.
backrest, chassis, breaking and foot rest. this optimized design would
make the chair more efficient and easy to use by enabling the person The propulsion of push rim wheelchair is the most painful task to do
to drive, steer, and stop without even touching the wheels, thus, as the repeated usage for a prolonged time causes pain in hands and
eliminating the risk of friction burns and protecting the wrists and shoulders. The mechanical efficiency of pushrim wheelchairs can be
shoulders from repetitive stresses. as low as 2-10% [2].
The analysis was done using commercial software ANSYS and Pushrim wheelchair propulsion creates a high strain on the cardio
CATIA and validation of results was conducted with the users and respiratory and musculoskeletal systems, resulting in a high energy
non-users of wheel chair. consumption, high heart rate, and low mechanical efficiency and in
the long term, complaints related to anatomical structures of the
upper limb. Inefficiency and stressful conditions related to this
technique, especially for upper limbs, have been already reported in
previous studies [3].The energy cost of everyday push rim wheelchair
is fairly high [4]. Epidemiological studies have also shown a high
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prevalence of shoulder complaints in paraplegic and quadriplegic The metabolic, maneuverability and usability tests were conducted.
spinal cord injured (SCI) users [5,6]. The application of brakes Recent studies have shown that the several physiological and
induces friction burn and cuts in hands of the user. metabolic responses of wheelchair users are similar to able bodied
person during wheelchair exercise [7, 8]. Studies often use able-
The ease of use and better efficiency provide an advantage to bodied subjects during metabolic wheelchair testing [9, 10, 11, and
all-terrain wheelchairs over push rim wheelchairs. The ergonomic 12]. Using able-bodied subjects to test several different wheelchairs
design provides comfort to the user and makes the task less allowed results which were not biased by long term experience to a
strenuous. The design is made such that it provides utmost ease when certain wheelchair type. Another reason that able-bodied subjects are
being operated in narrow places such as homes. This system is often used in metabolic wheelchair research is due to their
intended to provide a simpler means for obtaining an optimum consistently high reliability or retest reliability for heart rate and VO2
mechanical advantage as compared to pushrim conventional (oxygen uptake measure) during wheelchair exercise. [13, 14, 15].
propulsion. It supports good ergonomic postures and reduces the
number of times a person has to drag the wheels. The wheelchair is tested in accordance to Section 6.2 of the Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J2249.The test methods and
Various factors which have been considered during optimization are performance criteria are the same as those of ISO 10542-1
the positioning of Lever-drive system, Configuration of wheel, “Wheelchair tie down and occupant restraint systems - Part 1:
Seating, Backrest, Chassis, Breaking and Foot Rest designing. The Requirements and test methods for all systems,” and thus, compliance
seat would be given a proper inclination. The optimized wheelchair with SAE J2249 implies compliance with ISO 10542-1 [16].
comprises of all features necessary to provide safety during operation
such as a proper braking system, seat belt, gripped handles etc. The
A. The methodologies used for various test conducted are
material used for manufacturing is Chromoly 4130, which has high
strength and light weight, ensuring ease of manufacturing and a lower mentioned as follows:
production cost. The design is such that the optimized wheelchair 1. Maximum Speed
would require less maintenance and could be easily transported while
The intention of this test was to determine the maximum speed of the
the person is in transit. To make the design ergonomically sound
wheelchair. The speed of the wheelchair can be varied by changing
adjustable arm rest, knee rest and foot rest are provided. The
the position of gripping on the lever. The maximum speed was
optimization is done keeping in mind the affordability of the product
measured using a GPS based speedometer and recorded. The process
as this would be a major factor for the success of design in a country
was repeated thrice and average value for maximum speed was
like India.
calculated.
Part 1-Testing
The various tests based on parameters such as maximum speed,
acceleration, stroke frequency, mechanical efficiency, obstacle
climbing ability, turning radius, distance distances traveled per stroke,
pressure cuts and burns, heart rate and oxygen level consumption
were done under similar conditions on both the wheelchair one by
one which are available to us having same configuration except the
drive for the fair comparison. Five users, 3 males and 2 females
whose ages were approximately in the age group of 21-50 years, were
the driver. Three out of five were non-wheelchair users.
FIGURE II.
FIGURE III.
From figure 2 we observe that stroke frequency is higher for ATW
than push rim WC and so overall the distance travelled will be more The result from figure III clearly represent that Lever WC breaks are
per unit time for ATW. more effective than pushrim WC.
TABLE II.
The result are shown in Table I and it clearly represent that ATW can
perform better in obstacle climbing as the achieved torque is more in
ATW due to leverage.
watch) was attached to user's wrist. The readings of heart rate 8. Usability Testing
monitor and speedometer (attached to the wheelchair) was recorded Usability refers to the level of comfort offered by a wheelchair to the
using a video camera pointed at monitor display screen. user making it better and easier to use. Although a wheelchair may be
highly maneuverable or mechanically efficient it is not practically
viable to use if it is uncomfortable or complicated to use.
(1)
For testing, the users were asked to rate the performance of the
Now, P signifies the power efficiency, which is defined as
respective wheelchairs over different terrains such as concrete, grass,
tiles and mud after all the tests were conducted. The rating was done
on a scale of 5; 1 being very bad to 5 being very good.
(2)
(3)
Where
V= velocity of wheelchair,
The average score for ATW is 6.8 shown in figure IV, while for
Here, μmg is approximately mechanical output power and HR* may
pushrim wheelchair is 2.4 which are quite low as compared to ATW.
be used as the measure of physical exertion.
The result data clearly represent that the power efficiency of Lever
WC is greater than the power efficiency of pushrim WC.
The result from figure V clearly depicts that ATW distance per stroke Part 2-Optimization
is 43.2% more than push-rim wheelchair. The testing image of ATW
The comparison of all-terrain wheelchair and push rim wheelchair on
for distance travelled per stroke is shown figure VI
various parameters mentioned above clearly indicate the competence
of all-terrain wheelchair over the push rim. But the present design of
all-terrain wheelchair still requires some modifications for the
optimum utilization of the concept. For the further development of
this ATW, feedbacks were taken by its daily users and by people
operating it during the various testing conducted. The problems
indicated by them were jotted down and research was carried to
improve it. The optimization mainly focused on the ergonomics and
efficiency of design and for that the main emphasis was given to
factors such as position of lever-drive system, configuration of wheel,
seating, backrest, chassis, breaking, wheel camber and foot rest.
Optimization was done by using the research technique available by
various studies conducted already and data is evaluated using old as
well as various new methods and softwares were employed to get the
best possible design.
10. Mechanical Efficiency (Heart rate with respect to • The small castors wheels at the front of the wheelchair provided
Average speed) insufficient obstacle climbing ability.
Metabolic studies of wheelchair activity often focus on oxygen • The frame is relatively heavier declining the performance
consumption and heart rate [19-20].This information is used to • There is no reverse drive in the current design which is a major
determine the energy demand, which is intrinsically connected to a drawback as ATW may get struck.
wheelchair's mechanical efficiency. All 5 users were directed to • The rigid frame causes standard wheelchairs to lift off the
operate the wheelchairs as per their ease and comfort during the ground on uneven obstacles.
testing. The heart rate was measured before and after the completion
• The brakes are applied using a metal part which comes in
of the test.
contact with the tire and rubber. This causes the rubber tires
to wear and eventually rupture. The brakes are inadequate to
control the downhill travel safely.
The position of the large rear wheels might cause tipping backwards
when climbing the slopes and would requires great skills.
1. Lever-drive system -
◦◦ levers length
◦◦ the position of axis of rotation
2. Configuration of wheel
3. Seat surface height and inclination of seat
FIGURE VII. 4. Backrest height and its angle
5. Basic chassis design
The average of all 5 users were taken to calculate increase in
mechanical efficiency by comparing the average velocity and 6. Break design
percentage change in heart rate of the individuals for both the 7. Foot Rest design
wheelchairs which is shown in figure VII. The mechanical efficiency 8. Wheel camber
is directly proportional to velocity and inversely to %change in heart
rate. Mechanical efficiency of ATW was found to be 61% which is Method for optimization -
48% more than the pushrim wheelchair which is quite high for a
mechanical component. The optimized values for each parameter mentioned above are
determined separately.
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Analytical Method
For lever length optimization
The length of the lever plays a crucial role for proper selection of
maximum torque and maximum speed value. The value of upper
body pushing power is adapted from result ofWoude, [26] and was
calculated to be 19.6W with a pushing force of 58N and hand
velocity of 0.33m/s. Testing was done to find the gear ratio system for
the ATW which would yield highest efficiency with relatively low
exertion. The value of power output was used in Equation 4 to
FIGURE VII. Changing hand position on the levers varies mechanical calculate the attainable velocity for long-duration travel on a variety
advantage of the drive train
of terrains, neglecting efficiency losses in the drive train.
Unlike most gear trains, which are operated in varied states of
multiple sprocket cassete to obtain multiple ratios, the ATW's drive
train exists in only one state i.e. only one combination. If more torque
at the wheel is needed to climb a hill, the user simply slides his hands
up the levers and away from the pivots, as shown in Figure VII, If
more speed is required, the user moves his hands closer to the lever (5)
pivots, achieving a greater angular deflection with every push stroke.
The relationship between chair speed and hand speed is represented Values in Equation 5 where
by Equation 4
CD (drag coefficient) = 1 [Autodesk Simulation CFD] [17],
ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 (approximately tarmac to gravel) and slopes So the general outline is that to minimize the physical strain such that
up to 5° (1:11 rise), the rider can propel himself at maximum the human arm should employ push force in the position for which
efficiency. the value of pushforce is maximum.
On rough surfaces such as sand or steep hill, the rider would have to Now considering the above assumption and the layout we can
compromise the speed in order to achieve high torque at the wheels. estimate the maximum energy that a human arm can blow according
Hence, the chair velocity will be very small making the value of to the general equation 8.
Vchairnegligible and reducing Equation 5 to Equation 6,
(8)
Where, FResist is the total resistance force acting on the chair. F =arm push force vector (varies with arm position);
Rearranging Equation 4 for force instead of speed transfer, and
neglecting drive train efficiency, yields Equation 7, s = hand displacement vector;
3. Seating Position
It was selected on the basis of these three criteria:
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increases. user's shoulder: shoulder pain in patients with spinal cord
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• For the new design 8 degree camber is used to counter the
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Conclusion 11. Richter, W.M., Rodriguez, R., Woods, K.R., and Axelson, P.W.,
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The ATW is better in almost all the testing parameters. The AWC is
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Acknowledgment
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Definitions/Abbreviations
ATW - All Terrain Wheelchair
Pushrim Wheelchair - Wheelchair which is propelled by pushing
the rim attached to wheel.
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