Operators of mining vehicles are exposed to high levels of whole-body vibration (WBV) and are therefore at risk of developing vibration-related health disorders. For implementing an effective control strategy, it is imperative to locate the source(s) of vibration, and the specific changes that might occur to the vibration signals during its transmission through the seats to the recipient human body. With this objective, Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility (SEAT) values of seat modules used in dumpers (n = 10) and other heavy earth-moving machines (n = 11) were evaluated in an iron ore mine. Vibration was measured simultaneously on the seat and on the cabin floor beneath the seat using tri-axial and uni-axial accelerometers. The study aims at determining the quality of seat modules of the transport and non-transport vehicles from the perspective of their natural resonance frequencies and capability of any such seat in reducing harmful vibration. The highest acceleration values were observed in the z-axis for all the dumpers. SEAT_rms values ranged from 78 to 133% and SEAT_vdv values ranged from 72 to 130% for the dumpers. For other HEMMs, SEAT_rms values ranged from 55 to 125% and SEAT_vdv values ranged from 56 to 123%. Mechanical vibration contains multiple frequency components. To understand the changes taking place to the different signals at these frequencies, 1/3 octave band analysis was carried out for the signals recorded both on the seat and the floor. There was significant attenuation (38 to 57%) at 4 Hz for three Dumper seats, whereas they resonated in the range of 1.6–2.5 Hz. The transmissibility(%) in the resonating frequencies ranged from 108 to 156%. Resonance frequencies for the remaining seven dumpers ranged from 3 to 8 Hz. The spine has been reported to resonate at 4 Hz, whereas resonance at 1.6 Hz has little significance to human beings in regard to WBV of a seated person. Hence, the characteristic resonant frequency of 4 Hz of seats as observed in the present study has the potential of causing adverse impacts on spinal health. Evaluation of SEAT factors and resonance characteristics of seats are therefore recommended to be examined while selecting a mining vehicle for regular deployment in mines.

采矿车辆的操作员会遭受高水平的全身振动（WBV），因此有发展与振动有关的健康障碍的风险。为了实施有效的控制策略，必须确定振动源以及振动信号在通过座椅传输到接收者人体的过程中可能发生的特定变化。以此为目标，倾倒器（n = 10）和其他重型土方机械（n = 10）中使用的座椅模块的座椅有效振幅透射率（SEAT）值= 11）在铁矿中进行评估。使用三轴和单轴加速度计同时测量座椅和座椅下方机舱地板上的振动。该研究旨在从其自然共振频率以及任何此类座椅减少有害振动的能力的角度确定运输和非运输车辆座椅模块的质量。在所有自卸车的z轴上都观察到最高的加速度值。对于自卸车，SEAT _{r m s}值范围从78％到133％，SEAT _{v d v}值范围从72％到130％。对于其他HEMM，SEAT _{r m s}值的范围为55至125％，SEAT _{v d v}值范围从56％到123％。机械振动包含多个频率分量。为了了解在这些频率下不同信号的变化，对记录在座椅和地板上的信号进行了1/3倍频程分析。三个翻斗车座椅在4 Hz时有明显衰减（38％至57％），而在1.6–2.5 Hz范围内产生共振。共振频率的透射率（％）在108到156％之间。其余七个自卸车的共振频率范围为3到8 Hz。据报道，脊柱在4 Hz处产生共振，而就坐下的人的WBV而言，1.6 Hz的共振对人类意义不大。因此，本研究中观察到的4 Hz座椅的特征共振频率有可能对脊柱健康造成不利影响。因此，建议在选择在矿井中定期部署的采矿车辆时，检查SEAT因素和座椅共振特性的评估。