Effects of Impactor Mass in Top Impact Tests in Evaluation of Shock Absorption Performance of Construction Helmets: A Preliminary Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Pan, Christopher S. ; Wimer BM ; Wu, John Z.
• Description:
  Helmets have been considered one of the important prevention strategies in construction to reduce work-related traumatic brain injury risk. Top impacts are considered essential tests to evaluate the shock absorption performance of commonly used industrial helmets. Currently, there are two major test standards that are widely applied in industry: the U.S. standard ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 and the European standard EN397. Since drop impacts are performed using different impactor mass and drop heights, results obtained from two different test standards are quite different. The purpose of the current study is to analyze, evaluate, and compare the test results obtained using these two frequently used helmet test standards. A representative basic Type I construction helmet model was selected for the study. A total of 23 drop impact tests were performed at different drop heights and in two groups using two different impactor masses: (a) fifteen drop impacts were performed using an impactor mass of 3.6 kg at drop heights from 0.30 m to 2.23 m and (b) eight drop impacts were performed using an impactor mass of 5.0 kg at drop heights from 0.22 m to 1.35 m. Relationships between the drop height and the maximal transmitted force for two test groups were analyzed. When test data were plotted in the peak force and peaks accelerations as a function of impact kinetic energy, all test results for groups (a) and (b) fall narrowly on the same curve. Our results showed a consistent trend for the relationship of maximal transmitted force and accelerations as a function of the impact kinetic energy, independent of the impactor mass. When the impact energy is smaller than the critical impact energy, the peak impact forces and peak accelerations increase gradually and slowly with increasing impact energy; when the impact energy is greater than the critical impact energy, the peak impact forces and peak accelerations increase steeply with increasing impact energy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Environmental Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Preventive Medicine Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Construction Helmet Brain Damage Construction Endurance Tests Exposure Levels Force Head Injuries Head Protective Equipment Impact Force Injuries Kinetic Energy Models Preventive Measures Protective Equipment Risk Factors Top Impact Tests Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• ISBN:
  9781938496578
• Publisher:
  International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety (ISOES)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• 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:
  148-155
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057845
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the XXXIst Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference, June 12-13, 2019, New Orleans, Louisiana. Amsterdam: International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety (ISOES), 2019 Jun; :148-155
• Contact Point Address:
  John Z Wu, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Email:
  jwu@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the XXXIst Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference, June 12-13, 2019, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e6fbc344ddd852c2cb360e9eceebfdfbb5a215850f364832efe3d2234171c61677acfc9ff40d0e4d39f4e08c3e17595102d0edb24e715bd657e9d2a4821513c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215054/cdc_215054_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.21 MB ]