Rolling Resistance and Dynamic Characteristics of Manual Wheelchair on Several Floors

Abstract

The wheelchair will be in ever greater demand in a rapidly aging society in Japan. An adequate force for each user will be required and expected for propelling a wheelchair in a variety of environments. In the present study we adapted floors with different surface characteristics. We measured the forces in vertical and movement directions, when a wheelchair runs on four types of floors. We have calculated the coefficient of rolling friction and rolling resistance of rider-manual wheelchair systems. We have also calculated torque, velocity and running distance for one stroke with the above calculated coefficient of rolling friction.