Date of Award

6-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2018.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Gaetano Restivo

Abstract

Millions of injured people are transported by ambulances each year. While the suspension systems of ambulances dampen the road vibrations felt by the passengers, they do not attenuate the vibration completely. To patients who have compromised physical states, vibration and displacement can aggravate their condition and cause additional pain. Our solution to this societal problem is the Vibration Attenuating Medical Platform (VAMP). VAMP consists of an aluminum and steel structure that is moved with a pneumatic piston. This prototype is designed to fit into existing ambulances and attenuate the vibrations not eliminated by the ambulances suspension. After conducting background research, we found that max displacement in a vehicle is 4 inches. Using a factor of safety of 1.5 we selected a 12-inch stroke length piston, with the neutral piston position at 6 inches extended. A PID control system will be used for the half scale prototype to verify system movement, while a MIMO system is planned as the final full-scale system. No testing was performed on the physical prototype, but extensive analyses were conducted on all components of the system to ensure that they would interface well once assembled.

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