Improved test design for measuring palm vibration transmissibility and evaluating anti-vibration gloves

摘要

Industrial machines and power tools facilitate many aspects of manufacturing; however, the vibration transmission from them to the body of the workers causes damage to bones, joints and muscles. This research aims to further improve the understanding of the vibration that is transmitted to the hand and arm (HAV). It investigates the HAV testing setup and procedures for evaluating the suitability of anti-vibration gloves. This study has explored a novel way to measure and monitor the applied forces by using strain gauges. With this method not only are both forces easily measureable, but also the directions of the forces are measurable; this assists the operator to adjust the hand alignment with the direction of movement and increase the accuracy of the HAV test. Although the standard requests the use of an adaptor with an accelerometer inside for measuring the acceleration at the palm of the hand, the investigation shows that by using several miniature accelerometers on the surface of the hand, an improved understanding of the vibration behaviour of the palm side is feasible.