Three-Dimensional Finite Element Simulations of the Mechanical Response of the Fingertip to Static and Dynamic Compressions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dong, Ren G. ; Welcome DE ; Wu, John Z.
• Description:
  The analysis of the mechanics of the contact interactions of fingers/handle and the stress/strain distributions in the soft tissues in the fingertip is essential to optimize design of tools to reduce many occupation-related hand disorders. In the present study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model for the fingertip is proposed to simulate the nonlinear a.J1d time-dependent responses of a fingertip to static and dynamic loadings. The proposed FE model incorporates the essential anatomical structures of a finger: skin layers (outer and inner skins), subcutaneous tissue, bone and nail. The soft tissues (inner skin and subcutaneous tissue) are considered to be nonlinearly viscoelastic, while the hard tissues (outer skin, bone and nail) are considered to be linearly elastic. The proposed model has been used to simulate two loading scenarios: (a) the contact interactions between the fingertip and a flat surface and (b) the indentation of the fingerpad via a sharp wedge. For case (a), the predicted force/displacement relationships and time-dependent force responses are compared with the published experimental data; for case (b), the skin surface deflection profiles were predicted and compared with the published experimental observations. Furthermore, for both cases, the time-dependent stress/strain distributions within the tissues of the fingertip were calculated. The good agreement between the model predictions and the experimental observations indicates that the present model is capable of predicting realistic time-dependent force/displacement responses and stress/strain distributions in the soft tissues for dynamic loading conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Protective Clothing Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  Biomechanical-engineering Biomechanical-modeling Biomechanics Hand-injuries Hand-protection Models Simulation-methods
• ISSN:
  1025-5842
• 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:
  55-63
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030631
• Citation:
  Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Eng 2006 Feb; 9(1):55-63
• Email:
  jwu@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:446c6027e3cde53820bae0ecb3b793f25edfb82f149f8c982225c8aaf4a1a46d4f2b34fc878e2957c7f1c0f4d958c05f4f129b9dd526cfd00eefd6db3ebd23f5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191175/cdc_191175_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB ]