A New Approach to Characterize Grip Force Applied to a Cylindrical Handle

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dong, Ren G. ; McDowell, Thomas W. ; Welcome DE ; Wu, John Z.
• Description:
  The grip force applied to a cylindrical handle is a function of the measurement reference axis. So far, however, no attempt has been made to fully describe the exact form of this function. The objectives of this study were to examine some fundamental characteristics of grip forces and to explore the basic pattern of the grip force function. Twenty subjects (10 males and 10 females) participated in the experiment. The subjects alternately used their left and right hands to apply maximum grip forces and medium grip forces (about 40% of maximum) to a 30 mm handle. A flexible pressure sensor mat was used to measure the grip pressure. The pressure was integrated with respect to different measurement axes; this resulted in the grip force function. This study found that every gripping action produces maximum and minimum force axes; these axes are separated by about 90 degrees. The maximum force is correlated with the minimum force, but the former is generally about 1.42 times the latter. The principal grip direction is about 78 degrees from the z(h)-axis of the hand biodynamic coordinate system defined in ISO 8727 [ISO 8727. Mechanical vibration and shock - human exposure - biodynamic coordinate systems. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization; 1997]. More interestingly, each of the 160 sets of experimental data reasonably fit this study's proposed elliptical model. The implications of the findings are discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Vibration
• Keywords:
  Biodynamics Biomechanics Hand-tools Mathematical-models Nerve-function Nerves Neurological-reactions Neurological-system Vibration-effects Vibration-exposure
• ISSN:
  1350-4533
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20-33
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033401
• Citation:
  Med Eng Phys 2008 Jan; 30(1):20-33
• Contact Point Address:
  Ren G. Dong, Engineering & Control Technology Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, MS L-2027, WV 26505
• Email:
  rkd6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Medical Engineering & Physics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:10f8789a81602a7c9f4e8f1108de6afaa573c453131e9f677022d8877bbcadf102b808c86fe08ab90b9d3062f0fc2302032b815f78d608df2c36793e3b72ac7b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188995/cdc_188995_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.62 MB ]