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Evaluation of wheelchair seating system crashworthiness: "drop hook"-type seat attachment hardware
1Injury Risk Assessment and Prevention Laboratory, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. ginaber@pitt.edu
Objective:
To evaluate the crashworthiness of commercially available hardware that attaches seat surfaces to the wheelchair frame.
Design:
A low cost static crashworthiness test procedure that simulates a frontal impact motor vehicle crash.
Setting:
Safety testing laboratory.
Specimens:
Eleven unique sets of drop-hook hardware made of carbon steel (4), stainless steel (4), and aluminum (3).
Interventions:
Replicated seat-loading conditions associated with a 20g/48 kph frontal impact. Test criterion for seat loading was 16,680 N (3750 lb).
Main Outcome Measures:
Failure load and deflection of seat surface.
Results:
None of the hardware sets tested met the crashworthiness test criterion. All failed at less than 50% of the load that seating hardware could be exposed to in a 20g/48 kph frontal impact. The primary failure mode was excessive deformation, leading to an unstable seat support surface.
Conclusions:
Results suggest that commercially available seating drop hooks may be unable to withstand loading associated with a frontal crash and may not be the best option for use with transport wheelchairs.