Investigation on Ergonomics Characteristics of Protective Clothing Based on Capture of Three-Dimensional Body Movements

The objective of this investigation is to measure and document any significant difference in motion performance between the partial pressure suit (PPS) and the common clothing (CC), and therefore to explore the ergonomics evaluation indexes and appraisal methods of protective clothing (PC). This paper presents the results of three human mechanics tests and two operational performance tests conducted on nine male subjects which made possible the comparative evaluation under these two different situations. The human mechanics tests included a range of motion (ROM) test, a grip strength test, and a torque test while the operational performance tests included a target-aiming test and a screwing nuts test. Significant difference was found between the two suits in the ROM test, the grip strength test as well as the target-aiming test. This study demonstrates that motion performances vary significantly between the two suits and ROM together with grip strength can serve as ergonomics evaluation indexes of PC.