Apparent mass and cross-axis apparent mass of standing subjects during exposure to vertical whole-body vibration

Abstract

The effects of posture and vibration magnitude on the vertical apparent mass and the fore-and-aft cross-axis apparent mass of the standing human body during exposure to vertical vibration have been investigated. Twelve male subjects were exposed to random vertical vibration over the frequency range 2.0–20 Hz at three vibration magnitudes: 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 m s −2 rms. Subjects stood in five different postures: upright, lordotic, anterior lean, knees bent and knees more bent. The vertical acceleration at the floor and the forces in the vertical and fore-and-aft directions at the floor were used to obtain the apparent mass and the cross-axis apparent mass. The resonance frequency of the apparent mass was significantly reduced with knees bent and knees more bent postures, but there were only minor effects on the resonance frequency by changing the position of the upper body. Considerable cross-axis apparent mass, up to about 30% of the static mass of subjects, was found. The cross-axis apparent mass was influenced by all postural changes used in the study. In all postures the resonance frequencies of the apparent mass and the cross-axis apparent mass tended to decrease with increasing vibration magnitude. This nonlinear characteristic tended to be less clear in some postures in which subjects increased muscle tension.