Design and Validation of Motion Sickness Models for Rotorcraft

Kurzfassung

Modern developments such as electric air taxis place higher emphasis on increased passenger and crew comfort in flight. To support this effort, the present thesis deals with the creation of a motion sickness prediction model for rotorcraft aimed at predicting motion sickness also known as kinetosis. For this purpose, various prediction models and standards were evaluated. After selecting and adapting a suitable model, its parameters were further improved via numerical optimization based on the results of experimental motion sickness studies taken from literature. The resulting motion sickness model was then validated using a series of helicopter flight tests with a total of 32 test subjects onboard DLR’s Bölkow BO-105 helicopter, in which the kinetosis predicted by the model was compared to motion sickness observed in the flight test. Multiple support systems had to be developed as part of these flight tests, on the one hand to enable the recording of flight dynamics data and on the other hand to enable accurate tracking of the desired roll oscillation by the pilot in flight. An analysis of the results shows that the developed motion sickness model appears to be particularly suited for predicting moderate levels of kinetosis.