Estimation of the kinetic energy dissipation in fall-arrest system and manikin during fall impact

Details

• Personal Author:
  Harris JR ; Pan, Christopher S. ; Powers JR ; Wu, John Z.
• Description:
  Fall-arrest systems (FASs) have been widely applied to provide a safe stop during fall incidents for occupational activities. The mechanical interaction and kinetic energy exchange between the human body and the fall-arrest system during fall impact is one of the most important factors in FAS ergonomic design. In the current study, we developed a systematic approach to evaluate the energy dissipated in the energy absorbing lanyard (EAL) and in the harness/manikin during fall impact. The kinematics of the manikin and EAL during the impact were derived using the arrest-force time histories that were measured experimentally. We applied the proposed method to analyse the experimental data of drop tests at heights of 1.83 and 3.35 m. Our preliminary results indicate that approximately 84-92% of the kinetic energy is dissipated in the EAL system and the remainder is dissipated in the harness/manikin during fall impact. The proposed approach would be useful for the ergonomic design and performance evaluation of an FAS. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Fall-arrest Equipment Drop Test Energy Fall-protection Impact Kinetic-energy Lanyard Posture Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-research

  More +
• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• 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 ; DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  367-379
• Volume:
  54
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038642
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2011 Apr; 54(4):367-379
• Contact Point Address:
  John Z. Wu, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  jwu@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  West Virginia University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:533bb846f3a078b85d315eb641efaa02c0c0f61075868c7978f68d0709079886520af6494f69f1ae00a73dc31591b03643fc352d6ac6bd0a5bcadd09ef9ab03d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192286/cdc_192286_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.51 MB ]