Probabilistic Finite Element Prediction of the Active Lower Limb Model

2012 ◽  
Vol 463-464 ◽  
pp. 1285-1290
Author(s):  
Arsene Corneliu

The scope of this paper is to explore the input parameters of a Finite Element (FE) model of an active lower limb that are most influential in determining the size and the shape of the performance envelope of the kinematics and peak contact pressure of the knee tibial insert introduced during a Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery. The active lower limb FE model simulates the stair ascent and it provides a more complicated setup than the isolated TKR model which includes the femoral component and the tibial insert. It includes bones, TKR implant, soft tissues and applied forces. Two probabilistic methods are used together with the FE model to generate the performance envelopes and to explore the key parameters: the Monte Carlo Simulation Technique (MCST) and the Response Surface Method (RSM). It is investigated how the uncertainties in a reduced set of 22 input variables of the FE model affect the kinematics and peak contact pressure of the knee tibial insert. The kinematics is reported in the Grood and Suntay system, where all motion is relative to the femoral component of the TKR. Reported tibial component kinematics are tibio-femoral flexion angle, anterior-posterior and medial-lateral displacement, internal-external and varus-valgus rotation (i.e. abduction-adduction), while the reported patella kinematics are patella-femoral flexion angle, medial-lateral shift and medial-lateral tilt. Tibio-femoral and patella-femoral contact pressures are also of interest. Following a sensitivity analysis, a reduced set of input variables is derived, which represent the set of key parameters which influence the performance envelopes. The findings of this work are paramount to the orthopedic surgeons who may want to know the key parameters that can influence the performance of the TKR for a given human activity.

Author(s):  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Yanyao Jiang ◽  
Chu-Hwa Lee

A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model with the consideration of the helix angle of the threads was developed to simulate the second stage self-loosening of a bolted joint. The second stage self-loosening refers to the graduate reduction in clamping force due to the back-off of the nut. The simulations were conducted for two plates jointed by a bolt and a nut and the joint was subjected to transverse or shear loading. An M12×1.75 bolt was used. The application of the preload was simulated by using an orthogonal temperature expansion method. FE simulations were conducted for several loading conditions with different preloads and relative displacements between the two clamped plates. It was found that due to the application of the cyclic transverse load, micro-slip occurred between the contacting surfaces of the engaged threads of the bolt and the nut. In addition, a cyclic bending moment was introduced on the bolted joint. The cyclic bending moment resulted in an oscillation of the contact pressure on the contacting surfaces of the engaged threads. The micro-slip between the engaged threads and the variation of the contact pressure were identified to be the major mechanisms responsible for the self-loosening of a bolted joint. Simplified finite element models were developed that confirmed the mechanisms discovered. The major self-loosening behavior of a bolted joint can be properly reproduced with the FE model developed. The results obtained agree quantitatively with the experimental observations.


Author(s):  
Nihal Kottan ◽  
Gowtham N H ◽  
Bikramjit Basu

Abstract The wear of acetabular liner is one of the key factors determining the longevity and osseointegration of Total Hip Replacement (THR) implants. The long-term experimental measurements of wear in THR components are time and cost-intensive. A finite element (FE) model of a 32 mm Ceramic on Polymer system consisting of ZTA (Zirconia-toughened Alumina) femoral head and UHMWPE (Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene) liner was developed to predict the dynamic wear response of the liner. Archard-Lancaster equation, consisting of surface contact pressure, wear rate, and sliding distance, was employed to predict the wear in the liner. The contact pressure and wear at the articulating surface were found to decrease over time. A new computational method involving 3D point clouds from the FE analyzed results were used to construct wear maps. The model was able to predict the linear wear with relative errors ranging from 9% to 36% over 2 million cycles when compared to the published results. The increasing error percentage occurring primarily from the use of a constant wear rate was reduced to a maximum of 17% by introducing a correction factor. Volumetric wear rate was predicted with a maximum relative error of 7% with the implementation of the correction factor. When the model was implemented to study liners of diameters ranging from 28 mm to 36 mm, the linear wear was seen to decrease with an increase in femoral head diameter, which is in agreement with the clinical data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict Jain A.R. Tony ◽  
Masilamany S. Alphin

SummaryStudy aim: Interactions between the fingers and a handle can be analyzed using a finite element finger model. Hence, the biomechanical response of a hybrid human finger model during contact with varying diameter cylindrical handles was investigated numerically in the present study using ABAQUS/CAE.Materials and methods: The finite element index finger model consists of three segments: the proximal, middle, and distal phalanges. The finger model comprises skin, bone, subcutaneous tissue and nail. The skin and subcutaneous tissues were assumed to be non-linearly elastic and linearly visco-elastic. The FE model was applied to predict the contact interaction between the fingers and a handle with 10 N, 20 N, 40 N and 50 N grip forces for four different diameter handles (30 mm, 40 mm, 44mm and 50 mm). The model predictions projected the biomechanical response of the finger during the static gripping analysis with 200 incremental steps.Results: The simulation results showed that the increase in contact area reduced the maximal compressive stress/strain and also the contact pressure on finger skin. It was hypothesized in this study that the diameter of the handle influences the stress/strain and contact pressure within the soft tissue during the contact interactions.Conclusions: The present study may be useful to study the behavior of the finger model under the static gripping of hand-held power tools.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Yanyao Jiang ◽  
Chu-Hwa Lee

A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model with the consideration of the helix angle of the threads was developed to simulate the second stage self-loosening of a bolted joint. The second stage self-loosening refers to the gradual reduction in clamping force due to the back-off of the nut. The simulations were conducted for two plates jointed by a bolt and a nut and the joint was subjected to transverse or shear loading. An M12×1.75 bolt was used. The application of the preload was simulated by using an orthogonal temperature expansion method. FE simulations were conducted for several loading conditions with different preloads and relative displacements between the two clamped plates. It was found that due to the application of the cyclic transverse load, microslip occurred between the contacting surfaces of the engaged threads of the bolt and the nut. In addition, a cyclic bending moment was introduced on the bolted joint. The cyclic bending moment resulted in an oscillation of the contact pressure on the contacting surfaces of the engaged threads. The microslip between the engaged threads and the variation of the contact pressure were identified to be the major mechanisms responsible for the self-loosening of a bolted joint. Simplified finite element models were developed that confirmed the mechanisms discovered. The major self-loosening behavior of a bolted joint can be properly reproduced with the FE model developed. The results obtained agree quantitatively with the experimental observations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 2473011418S0018
Author(s):  
Bradley Campbell ◽  
Steven Abramowitch ◽  
William Anderst

Category: Ankle Introduction/Purpose: Knowledge of cartilage pressure distribution in healthy ankle joints during gait is important for understanding the loading environment of articular cartilage and for providing a basis for comparison to evaluate how ankle pathology and surgical procedures affect cartilage loading. Finite element models of the ankle have been developed to examine in vitro loads at the tibiotalar joint during simulated standing in healthy and injured ankle joints [1, 2]. However, there are currently no in vivo studies of tibiotalar cartilage pressure during dynamic loading activities. The goal of this study was to develop a subject-specific finite element model of the tibiotalar joint to estimate contact pressure during walking and running. Methods: Informed consent was obtained from one healthy male, age 23 yrs., BMI 27 kg/m2). Synchronized biplane radiographs of the ankle were acquired at 100 and 150 frames per second during the support phase of overground walking and running, respectively, at a self-selected pace (1.5 m/s and 3.0 m/s, respectively). CT-based bone models of the tibia and talus were matched to the stereoradiographic images to precisely track the three-dimensional bone movement [3]. Six degrees-of-freedom joint kinematics were calculated for each bone model, and used to position bone models in the finite element analysis. Cartilage volumes for the distal tibia and proximal talus were created in Geomagic software by extruding the articulating bone surface. Bones were modeled as rigid bodies and cartilage was modeled as deformable bodies with uniform thickness of 1.3 mm [4-7]. Simulations were performed using FEBio software. The primary outcome parameter was peak cartilage pressure in the tibiotalar joint. Results: On average, peak tibiotalar cartilage pressure was approximately 25% greater during the midstance phase of running in comparison to walking (Figure 1). During walking, peak contact pressure occurred on the lateral-central region of the tibiotalar cartilage throughout the entire stance phase. During the early support phase of running, the location of peak contact pressure was also on the lateral-central region of the tibiotalar cartilage. During running push-off, pressure increased in the medial-central cartilage region and the overall peak cartilage pressure increased. Conclusion: A novel finding of this study is that the peak pressure in tibiotalar cartilage moves from the lateral to medial side of the joint during running, but remains on the lateral side throughout the support phase of walking. This suggests that the location and magnitude of the loads seen by tibiotalar joint cartilage are activity dependent, even in the healthy ankle joint. Future work will investigate cartilage loading in pathologic ankles before and after surgical intervention, as well as during other common athletic activities.


Author(s):  
Kondaiah Bommisetty ◽  
Kumar Narayanan

Conventional analytical and numerical methods for the mechanical properties of helical threads are relied on many assumptions and approximations and thus hardly yield satisfactory results. In this paper, an effective mesh generation scheme is used which can provide accurate helical thread model to analyse specific characteristics of stress concentrations and contact pressure distributions caused by the helical thread geometry. Sector model of bolted flange joint has been analysed for pretension alone and combination of pretension and axial load. Using the finite element (FE) model with accurate thread geometry with pretension, the thread root stresses, contact pressure along the helix and at the nut loaded surface in the circumferential direction have been studied. The peak stress occurs at the first engaged bolt thread root from nut loaded surface. This stress at the thread root gradually decreases towards the free face of the nut. The contact pressure at nut bearing surface varies in the circumferential direction because of the circumferential variation of the stiffness of engaged threads adjacent to the nut loaded surface. The axial load along the engaged threads gradually decreases from nut loaded surface to zero towards the free surface of the nut. Results from analysis with pretension and axial load indicate that the contact separation starts at the inner radius of flange and grows towards outer diameter of flange as the axial load is increased in the bolted flange joint. It is observed from the analyses that the load is shared by flanges when the external applied axial load is up to 15% of preload, and beyond this, bolt starts sharing external load. The maximum stress occurs at the first engaged bolt thread root. Most of the bolt failures are at the first engaged thread. The study suggests that it is necessary to consider threads in FE model to obtain accurate contact pressure, thread stress, stiffness and bolt load predictions. These critical observations provide insight for optimization of bolted flange joint to meet the structural requirements and weight optimisation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 754 ◽  
pp. 272-275
Author(s):  
S. Mantovani

A hexagonal joint is mechanically analysed. A cross section of the receding contact between the male and female components is modelled as a plane strain problem. Particular attention is paid to the effect of the presence of fillets in the hexagonal male. Finite Element (FE) results show that, for each side of the hexagonal contact, the contact zone constitutes a small portion of the length of the hexagonal side, and separation occurs elsewhere. The normalized peak contact pressure and the contact length along the male sides are numerically evaluated.


2008 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 161-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. BOCCACCIO ◽  
L. LAMBERTI ◽  
C. PAPPALETTERE ◽  
L. QUAGLIARELLA

Finite element (FE) simulations can be utilized to predict contact pressures at the bone/implant interface as well as to identify the position and shape of the contact region. However, the accuracy and reliability of FE models of the bone/implant interface reconstructed from tomographic images may be affected by a number of factors such as the presence of image artifacts, the magnitude of geometric errors made in the reconstruction process, the type of boundary and loading conditions hypothesized in the model, the nonlinear solver utilized for computing the contact pressure distribution, and the element type. This paper attempts to estimate the global effect of the aforementioned factors. For this purpose, a cylindrical contact problem — pin/muff — portraying a simplified model of the bone/implant interface is considered. The accuracy of numerical predictions is estimated by comparing contact pressures predicted by an FE model reconstructed from computed tomography (CT) scan images and by an "ideal", experimentally validated FE model. Two different couplings, i.e. chromium-cobalt alloy and titanium implants, are considered. In the former case, image artifacts complicate the reconstruction process of model geometry and lead to less accurate predictions on contact pressure distribution; conversely, the limited streaking effects occurring in the titanium pin case allow us to precisely reconstruct coupling geometry. Finally, a rather clear correlation between errors on contact pressure and geometric errors made in the reconstruction process is found only for the titanium pin.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 1850018
Author(s):  
FEI LI ◽  
HEJUAN CHEN ◽  
TARO MAWATARI ◽  
YUKIHIDE IWAMOTO ◽  
FEI JIANG ◽  
...  

Finite element (FE) analysis has been used in the simulation of periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) to predict the improvement of contact pressure concentration in dysplastic hip joint. Since the cartilage layer is difficult to be segmented from CT or MRI images, most hip joint models were assumed to be a simple perfect ball and socket joint. However, the influence of different cartilage modeling methods on the reliability of the simulation has not been assessed. The objective of this study is to elucidate the influence of different cartilage modeling methods on predictions of cartilage layers’ contact pressure by FE contact analysis. In this study, the cartilage layer was generated by applying three typical kinds of modeling methods (spherical, uniform thickness, and midline-based). After comparisons with these cartilage modeling methods, the computational results demonstrate that the cartilage modeling methods have a dramatic influence on predictions of contact pressure in the PAO. The relatively continuous contact pressure distribution and lower peak contact pressure are observed in spherical cartilage modeling method. The discontinuous contact pressure distribution and higher peak contact pressure are obtained in uniform thickness and midline-based cartilage modeling methods. And the degree of discontinuous pressure distribution is even worse in the midline-based cartilage modeling method.


2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Chuan Chen ◽  
Sing-You Lee

This study uses an elastic-plastic, coupled temperature-displacement finite element model to investigate the effect of rail corrugations on the wheel-rail thermal contact stress and temperature distribution during wheel braking. The finite element model assumes that the material properties and the friction coefficient are temperature-dependent. The analysis considers various corrugation wavelengths and amplitudes and is performed over a range of braking speeds. The results indicate that the corrugated rail induces wavelike contact pressure and temperature distributions on the rail surface. The results also show that the variation in the peak contact pressure increases as the corrugation wavelength is reduced or as the corrugation amplitude is increased. Furthermore, it is found that the corrugated rail shifts the location of the peak value of the rail surface temperature toward the leading edge of the contact region. The amplitude of the temperature fluctuations reduces as the corrugation wavelength is increased or as the corrugation amplitude is reduced. Finally, a higher corrugation amplitude or a shorter corrugation wavelength causes the location of the peak maximum shear stress to shift toward the rail surface.


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