scholarly journals Understanding the design variables that contribute to the response of a prosthetic foot: Part I — Rig design

Author(s):  
James Hawkins ◽  
Philip Sewell ◽  
Mihai Dupac
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Prost ◽  
Kathryn M. Olesnavage ◽  
W. Brett Johnson ◽  
Matthew J. Major ◽  
Amos G. Winter

An experimental prosthetic foot intended for evaluating a novel design objective is presented. This objective, called the lower leg trajectory error (LLTE), enables the optimization of passive prosthetic feet by modeling the trajectory of the shank during single support for a given prosthetic foot and selecting design variables that minimize the error between this trajectory and able-bodied kinematics. A light-weight, fully characterized test foot with variable ankle joint stiffness was designed to evaluate the LLTE. The test foot can replicate the range of motion of a physiological ankle over a range of different ankle joint stiffnesses. The test foot consists of a rotational ankle joint machined from acetal resin, interchangeable U-shaped nylon springs that range from 1.5 N · m/deg to 24 N · m/deg, and a flexible nylon forefoot with a bending stiffness of 16 N · m2. The U-shaped springs were designed to support a constant moment along their length to maximize strain energy density; this feature was critical in creating a high-stiffness and high-range of motion ankle. The design performed as predicted during mechanical and in vivo testing, and its modularity allowed us to rapidly vary the ankle joint stiffness. Qualitative feedback from preliminary testing showed that this design is ready for use in large scale clinical trials to further evaluate the use of the LLTE as an optimization objective for passive prosthetic feet.


1967 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE R. WHEATON ◽  
ALBERT ZAVALA ◽  
HAROLD P. VAN COTT

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Yintao ◽  
Luo Yiwen ◽  
Miao Yiming ◽  
Chai Delong ◽  
Feng Xijin

ABSTRACT: This article focuses on steel cord deformation and force investigation within heavy-duty radial tires. Typical bending deformation and tension force distributions of steel reinforcement within a truck bus radial (TBR) tire have been obtained, and they provide useful input for the local scale modeling of the steel cord. The three-dimensional carpet plots of the cord force distribution within a TBR tire are presented. The carcass-bending curvature is derived from the deformation of the carcass center line. A high-efficiency modeling approach for layered multistrand cord structures has been developed that uses cord design variables such as lay angle, lay length, and radius of the strand center line as input. Several types of steel cord have been modeled using the developed method as an example. The pure tension for two cords and the combined tension bending under various loading conditions relevant to tire deformation have been simulated by a finite element analysis (FEA). Good agreement has been found between experimental and FEA-determined tension force-displacement curves, and the characteristic structural and plastic deformation phases have been revealed by the FE simulation. Furthermore, some interesting local stress and deformation patterns under combined tension and bending are found that have not been previously reported. In addition, an experimental cord force measurement approach is included in this article.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 170-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Koishi ◽  
Z. Shida

Abstract Since tires carry out many functions and many of them have tradeoffs, it is important to find the combination of design variables that satisfy well-balanced performance in conceptual design stage. To find a good design of tires is to solve the multi-objective design problems, i.e., inverse problems. However, due to the lack of suitable solution techniques, such problems are converted into a single-objective optimization problem before being solved. Therefore, it is difficult to find the Pareto solutions of multi-objective design problems of tires. Recently, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms have become popular in many fields to find the Pareto solutions. In this paper, we propose a design procedure to solve multi-objective design problems as the comprehensive solver of inverse problems. At first, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is employed to find the Pareto solutions of tire performance, which are in multi-dimensional space of objective functions. Response surface method is also used to evaluate objective functions in the optimization process and can reduce CPU time dramatically. In addition, a self-organizing map (SOM) proposed by Kohonen is used to map Pareto solutions from high-dimensional objective space onto two-dimensional space. Using SOM, design engineers see easily the Pareto solutions of tire performance and can find suitable design plans. The SOM can be considered as an inverse function that defines the relation between Pareto solutions and design variables. To demonstrate the procedure, tire tread design is conducted. The objective of design is to improve uneven wear and wear life for both the front tire and the rear tire of a passenger car. Wear performance is evaluated by finite element analysis (FEA). Response surface is obtained by the design of experiments and FEA. Using both MOGA and SOM, we obtain a map of Pareto solutions. We can find suitable design plans that satisfy well-balanced performance on the map called “multi-performance map.” It helps tire design engineers to make their decision in conceptual design stage.


10.29007/2k64 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Prodanovic ◽  
Cedric Goeury ◽  
Fabrice Zaoui ◽  
Riadh Ata ◽  
Jacques Fontaine ◽  
...  

This paper presents a practical methodology developed for shape optimization studies of hydraulic structures using environmental numerical modelling codes. The methodology starts by defining the optimization problem and identifying relevant problem constraints. Design variables in shape optimization studies are configuration of structures (such as length or spacing of groins, orientation and layout of breakwaters, etc.) whose optimal orientation is not known a priori. The optimization problem is solved numerically by coupling an optimization algorithm to a numerical model. The coupled system is able to define, test and evaluate a multitude of new shapes, which are internally generated and then simulated using a numerical model. The developed methodology is tested using an example of an optimum design of a fish passage, where the design variables are the length and the position of slots. In this paper an objective function is defined where a target is specified and the numerical optimizer is asked to retrieve the target solution. Such a definition of the objective function is used to validate the developed tool chain. This work uses the numerical model TELEMAC- 2Dfrom the TELEMAC-MASCARET suite of numerical solvers for the solution of shallow water equations, coupled with various numerical optimization algorithms available in the literature.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsin Noori Hamzah ◽  
Abdurrahman AbdulhessenGatta
Keyword(s):  

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Special Issue on First SACEE'19) ◽  
pp. 173-180
Author(s):  
Giorgia Di Gangi ◽  
Giorgio Monti ◽  
Giuseppe Quaranta ◽  
Marco Vailati ◽  
Cristoforo Demartino

The seismic performance of timber light-frame shear walls is investigated in this paper with a focus on energy dissipation and ductility ensured by sheathing-to-framing connections. An original parametric finite element model has been developed in order to perform sensitivity analyses. The model considers the design variables affecting the racking load-carrying capacity of the wall. These variables include aspect ratio (height-to-width ratio), fastener spacing, number of vertical studs and framing elements cross-section size. A failure criterion has been defined based on the observation of both the global behaviour of the wall and local behaviour of fasteners in order to identify the ultimate displacement of the wall. The equivalent viscous damping has been numerically assessed by estimating the damping factor which is in use in the capacity spectrum method. Finally, an in-depth analysis of the results obtained from the sensitivity analyses led to the development of a simplified analytical procedure which is able to predict the capacity curve of a timber light-frame shear wall.


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