Dynamic characterization of instrumented handle and palm-adapter used for assessment of vibration transmissibility of gloves

A mechanical testing method to assess the vibration isolation effectiveness of gloves has been standardized (ISO 10819). The instrumented handle and a palm-held adapter recommended in the standard are evaluated systematically in order to identify their potential contributions to the overall measurement errors. The results revealed a nonuniform distribution of vibration along the handle surface. The results also revealed the presence of considerable magnitudes of nonaxial source vibration caused by the nonaxial nature of the feed force imparted by the human hand. An alternate design of the handle is realized to achieve a more uniform distribution of vibration. Three alternative methods are proposed to minimize the contributions due to adapter misalignment and the nonaxial source vibration. An error contour method is proposed to predict the influence of the dynamic features of a handle on the measurement of effective vibration. The characterization methods developed in this study may also be applicable to other types of instrumented handles for the study of hand-arm vibration.