Observer design for apex height and vertical velocity of a single-leg hopping robot during stance phase

This article proposes an observer design for two important variables in the studies of single-leg hopping robot (SLHR), the apex height, and the vertical velocity of SLHR during its stance phase. At first, the Euler–Lagrange (EL) dynamics of SLHR are obtained and apex height is identified in the state-space representation of the EL dynamics. Apex height is the state variable that represents the robot body’s height at the top point, which keeps on changing as the robot functions. Vertical velocity is the velocity of the robot in the vertical direction. An observer design is presented in this article which will estimate these variables when required. The quality of the estimation is validated by the simulation results where the estimation error is zero which means the model output is correct and observer performance is good.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE PHENOMENA ON THE SUCCESSIVE DROPLETS IMPACTING HOT COPPER SURFAC

This study was aimed at investigating the phenomena and interactions between water droplets and hot metal surfaces using an experimental method. In this study, the droplet was dropped from 50 mm from the top of the metal surface with a frequency of 8.5 droplets per second. The observed droplet diameter was 3.12 mm. The metal used was copper with a surface temperature between 110-240 ° C. High speed video camera with a speed of 2000 fps was used to record visual data. Then the image processing technique was applied to calculate the change in droplet diameter. The results show that at low temperatures, droplets tend to maintain their initial position of contact with fluctuating deformations. While at high temperatures, a bounce phenomenon occurs which results in collisions between droplets being imperfect. Visualization results can reveal the complete change in the droplet geometry in the form of spreading ratio and complete apex height. The temperature of 140° C is the initial transition area for phenomena that result in droplets has no contact with hot surfaces so that the process of heat transfer between surfaces is inhibited.STUDI EKSPERIMEN PADA FENOMENA SUCCESSIVE DROPLETS MENUMBUK PERMUKAAN TEMBAGA PANASPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari fenomena dan interaksi antara tetesan air (droplet) dan permukaan logam panas dengan metode eksperimental. Pada penelitian ini, droplet dijatuhkan dari posisi 50 mm dari atas permukaan logam dengan frekuensi 8,5 droplet per detik. Diameter droplet yang diamati sebesar 3,12 mm. Logam yang digunakan adalah tembaga dengan temperatur permukaan di antara 110-240° C. High speed video camera dengan kecepatan 2000 fps digunakan untuk merekam data visual. Teknik image processing diaplikasikan untuk menghitung perubahan diameter droplet. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pertama, pada temperatur rendah, droplet cenderung mempertahankan posisi awal kontak dengan perubahan bentuk yang fluktuatif. Kedua, temperatur tinggi, terjadi fenomena bouncing yang mengakibatkan tumbukan antar droplet menjadi tidak sempurna. Hasil visualisasi dapat mengungkap perubahan geometri droplet berupa spreading ratio dan apex height secara lengkap. Dari penelitian ini juga diketahui bahwa temperatur 140°C menjadi daerah transisi awal terjadinya fenomena yang mengakibatkan droplet tidak bersinggungan dengan permukaan panas sehingga proses perpindahan kalor antar permukaan terhambat.

Radiographic Analysis of National Football League Players’ Fifth Metatarsal Morphology Relationship to Proximal Fifth Metatarsal Fracture Risk

Background: Fractures of the proximal fifth metatarsal are one of the most common foot injuries in athletes. Repetitive stresses endured by the fifth metatarsal can lead to stress fracture, delayed union, and refracture, making optimal treatment challenging. A radiographic analysis of fifth metatarsal morphology and foot type in National Football League (NFL) players was performed to investigate morphologic risk factors for these injuries. Methods: This was a case-control study that looked at NFL players treated between 1992 and 2012, as well as participants at the NFL Combine. Ninety-six feet (51 athletes) were included. Fractures were present in 15 feet. Two reviewers assessed fifth metatarsal morphology and foot type on anteroposterior, lateral, and oblique radiographs. Differences in foot type and metatarsal morphology between athletes with and without fractures were determined. Results: On anteroposterior radiographs, significant differences in apex medullary canal width, 4-5 intermetatarsal angle, fifth metatarsal angle, and talar head uncovering were observed between fractured and non-fractured feet ( P = .001, .003, .004, .008, respectively). On lateral radiographs, significant differences in the fifth metatarsal length, distance to apex, apex height, fifth metatarsal angle, and talocalcaneal angle were observed between fractured and nonfractured feet ( P = .04, .01, .02, .01, .01, respectively). On oblique radiographs, a significant difference was observed in apex height between fractured and nonfractured feet ( P = .002). Conclusion: Individuals with long, narrow, and straight fifth metatarsals with an adducted forefoot were most at risk for fifth metatarsal fractures. With this insight, attempts at fracture prevention can be implemented via footwear modifications, orthoses, and off-loading braces that account for those aforementioned morphologic attributes that place athletes at risk. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective comparative study.

Optimal Design of Multi-Span Pitched Roof Frames with Tapered Members

Many industrial buildings require large spans and high height, and the use of a frame with inclined roofs with non-prismatic elements can reduce the usage of steel. Pitched roof frame with single spans are optimized using different meta-heuristic algorithms. In this paper, the optimal design of industrial frames with two and three spans under gravity and lateral loads is performed. Five efficient and widely accepted optimization algorithms are used to optimize each frame. The convergence histories and design results of these algorithms are compared and the most suitable algorithm is determined. In each frame, the effect of increasing the apex height is evaluated on the optimal weight and the best angle is determined for optimum weight.

Apex Height Control of a Two-Mass Robot Hopping on a Viscoelastic Foundation With Inertia

A majority of the results in the literature on hopping robots assume the ground to be rigid. Hopping on a foundation that can be modeled as a mass-spring-damper system poses challenges due to undesired vibration of the additional degree-of-freedom and dissipation due to impact and viscous damping. A hybrid control strategy is developed to converge the maximum jumping height of the center-of-mass of a two-link prismatic-joint robot to a desired value. The hybrid control strategy uses backstepping in continuous time and integral control in discrete time to control the internal degree-of-freedom and the total energy. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the controller.

DISPOSABLE SYSTEM FOR IN-VIVO MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOFT TISSUES BASED ON VOLUME MEASUREMENT

In-vivo characterization of soft tissues is a key step toward biomechanical simulation and planning of intra-operative assisted surgery. To achieve this, aspiration method is a standard technique: tissue is aspirated through a hole while measuring the pressure and associated apex height. An inverse problem is then solved to identify the material mechanical properties. In the literature, the apex height is usually measured using a camera, which induces design difficulties, in particular in regards on the required sterilization process for in-vivo measurements. In this paper, the idea is to replace the apex height optical measurement by the measurement of the aspirated tissue volume. The proposed method enables to reduce the system head to a simple tube: sterilizations becomes easy and the system is disposable after use. The proposed system is thus the simplest, lightest and cheapest one could achieve. It is also to the authors knowledge the first time ever in aspiration method that the aspired volume is the extracted data. As the data signal-to-noise ratio is the main factor impacting any applied inverse method when extracting the mechanical properties, the aim of this work is to assess and compare the experimental signal-to-noise ratio in the raw volume measurements obtained either optically or with the method proposed. Explicit results of inverse methods using volumes as input data are not presented in this paper for concision purpose. The effects on accuracy of various experimental parameters has been investigated and quantified: the volume measurement has proved to present a same order or even better signal-to-noise ratio compared to optical measurements.

Hydrolagus erithacus sp. nov. (Chimaeriformes: Chimaeridae), a new species of chimaerid from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans

A new species of chimaerid, Hydrolagus erithacus sp. nov., is described from nine specimens collected from the southeast Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans from depths of 470–1,000 meters. This species is distinguished from all other Hydrolagus species based on the following characteristics: head bulky, relatively large, followed by stocky body; head and body height from about pectoral fin origin to pelvic fin origin similar, then tapering rapidly to filamentous tail; first dorsal fin spine height about equal to, or slightly less than first dorsal fin apex height; second dorsal fin up to 81% of total body length and uniform in height; trifurcate claspers forked for approximately 20% of total length; robust frontal tenaculum nearly uniform in width, prepelvic tenaculae with five to seven medial spines, and a uniform black coloration with robust, non-deciduous skin. Comparison of mitochondrial NADH2 gene sequences with other morphologically similar Hydrolagus species suggests that H. erithacus is a distinct species.