Vibration transmissibility characteristics of the human hand–arm system under different postures, hand forces and excitation levels

Abstract Biodynamic responses of the hand–arm system have been mostly characterized in terms of driving-point force-motion relationships, which have also served as the primary basis for developing the mechanical-equivalent models. The knowledge of localized vibration responses of the hand–arm segments could help derive more effective biodynamic models. In this study, the transmission of zh-axis handle vibration to the wrist, elbow and the shoulder of the human hand and arm are characterized in the laboratory for the bent-arm and extended arm postures. The experiments involved six subjects grasping a handle subject to two different magnitudes of broad-band random vibration, and nine different combinations of hand grip and push forces. The vibration transmissibility data were acquired in the zh- and yh-axis at the wrist and shoulder, and along all the three axes around the elbow joint. The results show that the human hand–arm system in an extended arm posture amplifies the vibration transmitted to the upper-arm and the whole-body at frequencies below 25 Hz, but attenuates the vibration above 25 Hz more effectively than the bent-arm posture, except at the shoulder. The magnitudes of transmitted vibration under an extended arm posture along the yh-axis were observed to be nearly twice those for the bent-arm posture in the low frequency region. The results further showed that variations in the grip force mostly affect vibration transmissibility and characteristic frequencies of the forearm, while changes in the push force influenced the dynamic characteristics of the entire hand–arm system. The magnitudes of transmitted vibration in the vicinity of the characteristic frequencies were influenced by the handle vibration magnitude.