The Effect of Form Factors of Shock Absorption Mat’s Subunits on Attenuation of Force from Elderly’s Fall

The purpose of this study was to investigate how differently various form factors of subunits of shock absorption mat attenuate force from the elderly’s fall.

The study procedures were the following: (1) literature review: possible form factors affecting the shock absorbing capacity were analyzed and synthesized from the review; (2) synthesis of design criteria: criteria for force simulation were formulated based on the information from the review; and (3) simulation: simulation of force from elderly’s fall absorbed by such mats with the following control and independent variables that were analyzed and synthesized in the previous steps: (control variables): 1) impact force, 2) physical properties of the rubber material; (independent variables): 1) form of cross-section, 2) form of edges, 3) pattern of arrangement of subunits in the structural layer, and 4) dimensional proportion of subunits.

The simulation results show that the subunits with a circular-cross-section and hourglass-like-edge form factors were the best at attenuating impact force. The best pattern of subunit arrangement was a table arrangement. This study was a preliminary study to a design of subunits of shock absorption mat. The results would be used in the next, more comprehensive study.