Motion and dynamic analyses of a human centrifuge system with an efficient design configuration

Abstract Modern high-maneuverable fighters and airplanes can expose pilots and aircrews to high-Gravity acceleration. In order to maintain air safety and superiority during operation, pilots and aircrews should have tolerance for this intense acceleration. Countermeasures can be taken to enhance the human tolerance to high-Gravity acceleration motion fields. One of the most promising solutions is acceleration physiology training using a Human Centrifuge System (HCS). Motivated by the lack of practical guidelines on design and development of HCS's structure and control algorithms, this study introduces an analysis framework towards characterising the most feasible HCS design configuration, meeting the requirements of effective centrifuge training. The proposed framework, including Inverse Kinematic and Dynamic (IKD) operation, motion analysis and sensitivity plots, can be simply applied to different design configurations with minor modification in the kinematic and dynamic algorithm. The outcomes of the study show the dependency of kinematic and dynamic responses of the system on the design and operational parameters. It is observed that the range of Coriolis acceleration and feet-to-head acceleration ratio can be minimised by adopting a proper orientation of the gondola. This outcome can be an important step towards the design of a more efficient and affordable HCS, without imposing the over-increased HCS's arm length challenges.