Development of Thumb Endurance Curves Applicable for Deadman Switches in Sandblasting Machines

Arijit K. Sengupta, Ugur Oztas, Anthony Krake

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Thumb operated deadman switches used in sandblasting machines are designed to prevent serious bodily injury from unintentional discharge of high velocity sand. The force required to hold down the switch is significant, causing fatigue and pain to set in very quickly in operator’s thumb. The objective of this study was to determine the thumb force capacity and muscle fatigue curves for thumb flexion, applicable for design of these devices. Maximum thumb pressing force (MTPF) and endurance times (ET) for holding down at force levels of 10, 20, 40, and 60% of MTPF were measured from 10 male and 10 female participants in a laboratory experiment. The best fit curves of ET as a function of %MTPF were modeled with R2 > 95%. These models should be used in matching the worker strength capacity to the thumb force requirements in deadman switch design to improve safety standards in sandblasting.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2021 - Healthcare and Healthy Work
EditorsNancy L. Black, W. Patrick Neumann, Ian Noy
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages190-195
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)9783030746100
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Event 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Jun 13 2021Jun 18 2021

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Networks and Systems
Volume222 LNNS
ISSN (Print)2367-3370
ISSN (Electronic)2367-3389

Conference

Conference 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period6/13/216/18/21

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Signal Processing
  • Computer Networks and Communications

Keywords

  • Deadman switch
  • Endurance time
  • Muscle fatigue
  • Sandblasting
  • Thumb pressing

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