A Method for Analyzing the Effectiveness of Vibration-Reducing Gloves Based on Vibration Power Absorption

Abstract

The effectiveness of vibration-reducing (VR) gloves is conventionally assessed based on the vibration transmissibility of the gloves. This study proposed a method for analyzing and assessing the effectiveness of VR gloves based on how gloves affect the vibration power absorption (VPA) of the hand–arm system and its distribution. A model of the entire tool–handle–glove–hand–arm system was used to predict the VPA distributed in the glove and across the substructures of the hand–arm system. The ratio of the gloved-VPA and ungloved-VPA in each group of system substructures was calculated and used to quantify VR glove effectiveness, which was termed the VPA-based glove vibration transmissibility in this study. The VPA-based transmissibility values were compared with those determined using to-the-hand and on-the-hand methods. Three types of gloves (ordinary work glove, gel VR glove, and air bubble VR glove) were considered in the modeling analyses. This study made the following findings: the total VPA-based transmissibility spectrum exhibits some similarities with those determined using the other two methods; the VPA-based transmissibility for the wrist–forearm–elbow substructures is identical to that for the upper–arm–shoulder substructures in the model used in this study; each of them is equal to the square of the glove vibration transmissibility determined using the on-the-wrist method or on-the-upper-arm method; the other substructure-specific VPA-based transmissibility spectra exhibit some unique features; the effectiveness of a glove for reducing the overall VPA in the hand–arm system depends on the glove effectiveness for absorbing the vibration energy, which seems to be associated primarily with the glove cushioning materials; the glove may also help protect the fingers or hand by redistributing the VPA across the hand substructures; this redistribution seems to be primarily associated with the glove structural properties, especially the tightness of fit for the glove.