The effect of caster wheel diameter and mass distribution on drag forces in manual wheelchairs.
J Rehabil Res Dev
; 53(6): 893-900, 2016.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28475204
ABSTRACT
This study proposes a way to reduce energy losses in the form of rolling resistance friction during manual wheelchair propulsion by increasing the size of the front caster wheels and adjusting the weight distribution. Drag tests were conducted using a treadmill and a force transducer. Three different casters diameter (4 in., 5 in., and 6 in.) and six different mass distribution combinations (based on percentage of total weight on the caster wheels) were studied. A two-way analysis of variance test was performed to compare caster size and weight distribution contribution with drag force of an ultralight wheelchair. The 4 in. caster contributed significantly more drag, but only when weight was 40% or greater over the casters. Weight distribution contributed more to drag regardless of the casters used.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Wheelchairs
/
Equipment Design
Language:
En
Journal:
J Rehabil Res Dev
Year:
2016
Document type:
Article