Study of suspended handle materials for reducing hand-arm vibration in backpack grass trimmer

Abstract

Backpack-type petrol-driven grass trimmers are a widely used grass trimmer. However, the high vibration on its handle causes machine operator to be at risk of “Hand Arm Vibration (HAV)” or vibration exposure on the arms that can damage the nervous system. This research aims to study the effect of suspended handle materials in reducing the vibration on the handle of the backpack-type grass trimmer. There are three types of materials used in this study, they are natural rubber, rubber silicone and foam EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate). The material is layered around the handle and then the vibration on the handle is measured. The result shows that foam EVA has better performance in reducing the vibration acceleration rather than natural rubber and rubber silicone.