This work presents a study on vibration levels in connection with human comfort and perception. The main objective here was to experimentally generate human-comfort and perception curves as a function of vertical sinusoidal vibrations. Thirty volunteers (15 men and 15 women) and a frequency range varying from 12 to 80 Hz were considered in the experiments. The goal of the first experiment was to determine the vibration-perception limits. Also measured was the uncertainty interval of the analysis. The second experiment was related to the determination of the relation between the perception and comfort limit, taking into account residential areas. The effects of posture on the results are also investigated. No significant differences were found between the results for men and women. Furthermore, the perception limit for seated persons is in accordance with the ISO 2631/2 (1989). On the other hand, significant differences were found for the standing posture. The results for the human-comfort limit in residential areas are found to be 2 to 4 times greater than the experimentally measured perception limit.
vibration; perception limits; human comfort
