In this paper, further studies have been carried out on the analysis and effect of certain design modifications on the structural integrity of an automotive seating rail structure. Automotive seating is one of the important component in the automotive industry due to their main function to carry the weight of passenger as well as to sustain the vibrations from the road. The seat structures are assembled to carry other important components such as side airbag and seatbelt systems. The entire seating is supported firmly and attached to the bottom bodywork of the vehicle through the linkage assembly called the seat rails. Seat rails are adjustable in their longitudinal motion which plays an important role in giving the passengers enough leg room to make them feel comfortable. Therefore, seat rails under the various operating conditions such as forward and normal positions should be able to withstand the complete weight of the human and the associated loads due to vibrations.
In this paper, some of the functional requirements such as strength, stiffness, durability and crash performance are discussed and analyzed using simple hand calculations, as well as, CAE simulations. This paper also discusses the studies performed under different operating conditions of the seat rails. SolidWorks simulation tool has been used for the studies. Different grades of steel, aluminum, and multi-materials have been studied as candidate materials for the seat rails. Based on these studies a modified seat rail structure is proposed that increases the fatigue life, decrease the damage percentage, and improves the vibration and crash performances.