Exposure Time Influence in Whole Body Vibration Tests:Same Vibration Dose Value Investigation

The analysis of whole-body vibration (WBV) effects on human beings may be often affected by the time the subject is exposed to it. The ISO2631-1 standard (1997) mentions that some studies indicate a square power relationship between the time and exposure level to produce equal energy levels in two distinct situations. It also mentions that some other studies indicate a forth power relationship. With that in mind, the present study aims to evaluate the influence of the exposure time when considering comfort levels to vibration. The same frequency is considered in all situations studied. The exposure time and the RMS acceleration amplitude used that are varied, so that, the same vibration dose values (VDV) are obtained. The results are interpreted with that in mind in order to check if the relationship mentioned in the standard can be really applied to WBV comfort studies.