Biomechanical evaluation of heel elevation on load transfer — experimental measurement and finite element analysis

In spite of ill-effects of high heel shoes, they are widely used for women. Hence, it is essential to understand the load transfer biomechanics in order to design better fit and comfortable shoes. In this study, both experimental measurement and finite element analysis were used to evaluate the biomechanical effects of heel height on foot load transfer. A controlled experiment was conducted using custom-designed platforms. Under different weight-bearing conditions, peak plantar pressure, contact area and center of pressure were analyzed. A three-dimensional finite element foot model was used to simulate the high-heel support and to predict the internal stress distributions and deformations for different heel heights. Results from both experiment and model indicated that heel elevations had significant effects on all variables. When heel elevation increased, the center of pressure shifted from the midfoot region to the forefoot region, the contact area was reduced by 26% from 0 to 10.2 cm heel and the internal stress of foot bones increased. Prediction results also showed that the strain and total tension force of plantar fascia was minimum at 5.1 cm heel condition. This study helps to better understand the biomechanical behavior of foot, and to provide better suggestions for design parameters of high heeled shoes.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TWO-POINT CONTACT BETWEEN WHEEL AND RAIL

The elastic-plastic contact problem with rolling friction of wheel-rail is solved using the FE parametric quadratic programming method. Thus, the complex elastic-plastic contact problem can be calculated with high accuracy and efficiency, while the Hertz＇s hypothesis and the elastic semi-space assumption are avoided. Based on the ‘one-point＇ contact calculation of wheel-rail, the computational model of ‘two-point＇ contact are established and calculated when the wheel flange is close to the rail. In the case of ‘two-point＇ contact, the changing laws of wheelrail contact are introduced and contact forces in various load cases are carefully analyzed. The main reason of wheel flange wear and rail side wear is found. Lubrication computational model of the wheel flange is constructed. Comparing with the result without lubrication, the contact force between wheel flange and rail decreases, which is beneficial for reducing the wear of wheel-rail.     

Research of air-cushion isolation effects on high arch dam reservoir

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of air-cushion isolated arch dam is presented with the nonlinear gas-liquid-solid multi-field dynamic coupling effect taken into account.In this model,the displacement formulation in Lagrange method,pressure formulation in Euler method,nonlinear contact model based on Coulomb friction law are applied to the air-cushion,reservoir and contraction joint domain,respectively.The dynamic response of Jinping I arch dam with a height of 305 m is analyzed using the seismic records of the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008.Numerical results show that the air-cushion isolation reduces significantly the hydrodynamic pressure as well as the opening width for the contraction joints of high arch dam.     

Numerical investigation of dual-porosity model with transient transfer function based on discrete-fracture model

Based on the characteristics of fractures in naturally fractured reservoir and a discrete-fracture model, a fracture network numerical well test model is developed.Bottom hole pressure response curves and the pressure field are obtained by solving the model equations with the finite-element method. By analyzing bottom hole pressure curves and the fluid flow in the pressure field, seven flow stages can be recognized on the curves. An upscaling method is developed to compare with the dual-porosity model(DPM). The comparisons results show that the DPM overestimates the inter-porosity coefficient λ and the storage factor ω. The analysis results show that fracture conductivity plays a leading role in the fluid flow. Matrix permeability influences the beginning time of flow from the matrix to fractures. Fractures density is another important parameter controlling the flow. The fracture linear flow is hidden under the large fracture density.The pressure propagation is slower in the direction of larger fracture density.     

Dynamical analysis and performance evaluation of a biped robot under multi-source random disturbances

During bipedal walking,it is critical to detect and adjust the robot postures by feedback control to maintain its normal state amidst multi-source random disturbances arising from some unavoidable uncertain factors.The radical basis function（RBF）neural network model of a five-link biped robot is established,and two certain disturbances and a randomly uncertain disturbance are then mixed with the optimal torques in the network model to study the performance of the biped robot by several evaluation indices and a specific Poincar′e map.In contrast with the simulations,the response varies as desired under optimal inputting while the output is fluctuating in the situation of disturbance driving.Simulation results from noise inputting also show that the dynamics of the robot is less sensitive to the disturbance of knee joint input of the swing leg than those of the other three joints,the response errors of the biped will be increasing with higher disturbance levels,and especially there are larger output fluctuations in the knee and hip joints of the swing leg.     

DEM Modeling of Particle Breakage in Silica Sands under One-Dimensional Compression

A Discrete Element Method(DEM) model is developed to study the particle breakage effect on the one-dimensional compression behavior of silica sands. The ‘maximum tensile stress' breakage criterion considering multiple contacts is adopted to simulate the crushing of circular particles in the DEM. The model is compared with published experimental results. Comparison between the compression curves obtained from the numerical and experimental results shows that the proposed method is very effective in studying the compression behavior of silica sands considering particle breakage. The evolution of compression curves at different stress levels is extensively studied using contact force distribution, variation of contact number and particle size distribution curve with loading. It is found that particle breakage has great impact on compression behavior of sand, particularly after the yield stress is reached and particle breakage starts.The crushing probability of particles is found to be macroscopically affected by stress level and particle size distribution curve, and microscopically related to the evolutions of contact force and coordination number. Once the soil becomes well-graded and the average coordination number is greater than 4 in two-dimension, the crushing probability of parent particles can reduce by up to5/6. It is found that the average contact force does not always increase with loading, but increases to a peak value then decreases once the soil becomes more well-graded. It is found through the loading rate sensitivity analysis that the compression behavior of sand samples in the DEM is also affected by the loading rate. Higher yield stresses are obtained at higher loading rates.     

Experimental demonstration of a new concept of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles

A new idea of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles is proposed based on the combination of a physical spike and lateral jets for shockreconstruction. The spike recasts the bow shock in front of a blunt body into a conical shock, and the lateral jets work to protect the spike tip from overheating and to push the conical shock away from the blunt body when a pitching angle exists during flight. Experiments are conducted in a hypersonic wind tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6. It is demonstrated that the shock/shock interaction on the blunt body is avoided due to injection and the peak pressure at the reattachment point is reduced by 70% under a 4° attack angle.     

Low-velocity pneumatic conveying in horizontal pipe for coarse particles and fine powders

First, the characteristics of low-velocity conveying of particles having different hardness are experimentally investigated in a horizontal pipeline in terms of flow pattern and pressure drop to show that the slug flow can be classified into two types depending on the settling of particles along the pipeline, and the period is small for slug flow without the settled layer, which is called solitary slug flow. The pressure drop for soft particles is shown to be larger than that for hard particles. Then, experimental results are presented on horizontal fluidized-bed conveying of fine powders to show that air release from the top surface of the conveying channel is an imnortant factor for high mass flow rate of particles.     

A new stabilized method for quasi-Newtonian flows

For a generalized quasi-Newtonian flow, a new stabilized method focused on the low-order velocity-pressure pairs, （bi）linear/（bi）linear and （bi）linear/constant element, is presented. The pressure projection stabilized method is extended from Stokes problems to quasi-Newtonian flow problems. The theoretical framework developed here yields an estimate bound, which measures error in the approximate velocity in the W 1,r（Ω） norm and that of the pressure in the L r＇ （Ω） （1/r ＋ 1/r＇ = 1）. The power law model and the Carreau model are special ones of the quasi-Newtonian flow problem discussed in this paper. Moreover, a residual-based posterior bound is given. Numerical experiments are presented to confirm the theoretical results.     

Analysis of limit cycle oscillations of a typical airfoil section with freeplay

A typical airfoil section system with freeplay is investigated in the paper. The classic quasi-steady flow model is applied to calculate the aerodynamics, and a piecewise-stiffness model is adopted to characterize the nonlinearity of the airfoil section’s freeplay. There are two critical speeds in the system, i.e., a lower critical speed, above which the system might generate limit cycle oscillation, and an upper critical one, above which the system will flutter. Then a Poincaré map is constructed for the limit cycle oscillations by using piecewise-linear solutions with and without contact in the system. Through analysis of the Poincaré map, a series of equations which can determine the frequencies of period-1 limit cycle oscillations at any flight velocity are derived. Finally, these analytic results are compared to the results of numerical simulations, and a good agreement is found. The effects of freeplay value and contact stiffness ratio on the limit cycle oscillation are also analyzed through numerical simulations of the original system. Moreover, there exist multi-periods limit cycle oscillations and even complicated "chaotic" oscillations may occur, which are usually found in smooth nonlinear dynamic systems.     

DYNAMIC MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF THE LOWER LIMB PROSTHESIS WITH FOUR-BAR LINKAGE PROSTHETIC KNEE$^{\bf 1)}$

相比于单轴式膝关节,四连杆膝关节具有更好的仿生特性和运动安全性,因而在下肢假肢研究中得到广泛关注. 本研究以一款四连杆膝关节被动假肢为研究对象,主要关注足-地交互作用力以及膝关节单边接触力等强非线性因素对下肢假肢步态的影响. 为此,采用 Kelvin-Voigt 模型和库伦模型描述足-地接触力和摩擦力,并采用 Kelvin-Voigt 模型描述膝关节单边接触力,从而基于第一类拉格朗日方程建立假肢动力学模型. 本研究以步态实验测得的髋关节运动数据为模型的驱动信号,针对假肢的步态特征进行了数值分析. 计算结果显示,当膝关节液压阻尼器的刚度较小时,强非线性作用力会使假肢产生显著的亚谐波响应,进而导致步态周期失谐. 进一步研究发现,提胯行为能够避免步态周期失谐,这也为残疾人行走时的提胯等代偿行为提供了一种新的力学解释. 为了评价假肢步态与健康人实测步态的一致性,本研究进一步定义了步态相关系数并分析了膝关节液压阻尼器刚度、阻尼参数对相关系数的影响. 结果表明,通过合理的刚度、阻尼参数设计,两者步态的相关系数可达到 0.9 以上,这为四连杆膝关节被动假肢进一步优化提供了理论支撑.     

四连杆膝关节假肢的动力学建模与分析

相比于单轴式膝关节,四连杆膝关节具有更好的仿生特性和运动安全性,因而在下肢假肢研究中得到广泛关注. 本研究以一款四连杆膝关节被动假肢为研究对象,主要关注足-地交互作用力以及膝关节单边接触力等强非线性因素对下肢假肢步态的影响. 为此,采用 Kelvin-Voigt 模型和库伦模型描述足-地接触力和摩擦力,并采用 Kelvin-Voigt 模型描述膝关节单边接触力,从而基于第一类拉格朗日方程建立假肢动力学模型. 本研究以步态实验测得的髋关节运动数据为模型的驱动信号,针对假肢的步态特征进行了数值分析. 计算结果显示,当膝关节液压阻尼器的刚度较小时,强非线性作用力会使假肢产生显著的亚谐波响应,进而导致步态周期失谐. 进一步研究发现,提胯行为能够避免步态周期失谐,这也为残疾人行走时的提胯等代偿行为提供了一种新的力学解释. 为了评价假肢步态与健康人实测步态的一致性,本研究进一步定义了步态相关系数并分析了膝关节液压阻尼器刚度、阻尼参数对相关系数的影响. 结果表明,通过合理的刚度、阻尼参数设计,两者步态的相关系数可达到 0.9 以上,这为四连杆膝关节被动假肢进一步优化提供了理论支撑.      

关于人膝关节生物力学模型的研究现状

建立人膝关节模型是生物力学研究领域中最具挑战性的课题之一．本文对人膝关节生物力学模型的研究现状予以简单的评估和综述．结果显示：目前用于研究人膝关节的大部分模型,均属静力或准静力模型;仅建立了极少的人膝关节解剖基生物动力模型,且均属二维动力模型．因此,建立一个三维真实人膝关节生物动力模型是目前迫在眉睫的工作     

A novel 3D parallel mechanism for the passive motion simulation of the patella-femur-tibia complex

Parallel mechanisms have been exploited for the kinematic modelling of the passive motion, i.e. the motion under virtually unloaded conditions, of the patella-femur-tibia human joint. In particular, a new mechanism is devised in this paper: a 3D model of the patella-femur relative motion is presented which, combined with a previous simplified model of the femur-tibia relative motion, provides a suitable tool for the design of knee prostheses. Although less accurate than a previously presented model of the patella-femur-tibia joint, the new mechanism still replicates passive knee motion quite well and is simpler from a mechanical point of view. Experimental results validate the efficiency of the proposed model.     

人工膝关节置换中的生物力学研究进展

膝关节是人全身最大最复杂的关节, 它的任何一个主要组成部分的损坏都会引起膝关 节的反常运动, 久之软骨和半月板发生磨损、变性而形成骨性关节病, 从而影响人的日常生 活. 通常采用的方法是进行膝关节矫形或置换, 对严重病变的膝关节, 则采用全膝置换手术. 随着人工膝关节置换成为非常普遍的外科手术, 与膝关节假体相关的研究也越来越多的被人 所关注. 从生物力学角度对人工膝关节假体的类型和材料、假体生物力学性能的理论和 实验研究、骨重建的理论模型、骨整合的理论和实验、与理论和实验相关的有限元分析模型 等几个主要方面进行了详尽的综述. 同时, 指出了人工膝关节置换和目前研究中存在的问题, 并对其未来的发展方向进行了一定的预测.     

一个解剖基人体下肢的生物动力模型--第一部分: 模型描述

建立一个完整的解剖基人体下肢二维（矢状面内）生物动力模型,该模型仿真了人体下肢的生物动力运动,并可用来计算人体下肢在冲击外载荷或肌肉活性力的作用下,下肢的重要承力部位－膝关节处的结构力（包括：膝关节的咬合接触力、膝关节处四个主要韧带张力等）和人体下肢的肌肉群力;同时本模型也可用来计算人体下肢在运动期间,膝关节处的咬合位移以及膝关节和髋关节的屈伸位移等。另外,模型还为研究人工关节、人工韧带和人工肌肉     

A multi-body optimization framework with a knee kinematic model including articular contacts and ligaments

Multi-body optimization is one of the methods proposed to reduce the errors due to soft-tissue artifact in gait analysis based on skin markers. This method uses a multi-body kinematic model driven by the marker trajectories. The kinematic models developed so far for the knee joint include a lower pair (such as a hinge or a spherical joint) or more anatomical and physiological representations including articular contacts and the main ligaments. This latter method allows a better representation of the joint constraints of a subject, potentially improving the kinematic and the subsequent static and dynamic analyses, but model definition and mathematical implementation can be more complicated. This study presents a mathematical framework to implement a kinematic model of the knee featuring articular contacts and ligaments in the multi-body optimization. Two penalty-based methods (minimized and prescribed ligament length variations) consider deformable ligaments and are compared to a further method (zero ligament length variation) featuring isometric ligaments. The multi-body optimization is performed on one gait cycle for five asymptomatic male subjects by means of a lower limb model including the foot, shank, thigh and pelvis. The mean knee kinematics, ligament lengthening and contact point positions are compared over the three methods. The results are also consistent with results from the literature obtained by bone pins or biplanar fluoroscopy. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to evaluate how the joint kinematics is affected by the weights used in the penalty-based methods. The approach is purely kinematic, since the penalty-based framework does not require the solution of the joint static or dynamic analyses and makes it possible to consider ligament deformations without the definition of ligament stiffness that generally cannot be identified through in vivo measurements. Nevertheless, as far as a knee kinematic model is concerned, particularly in musculoskeletal modeling, this approach appears to be a good compromise between standard non-physiological kinematic models and complex deformable dynamic models.     

一个三维人膝关节弹性咬合的生物力学模型

基于人膝关节的解剖特征,在文献和试验的基础上,对膝关节解剖结构作了适当的简化,从而建立了一个完整的三维人膝关节弹性咬合的生物力学模型。     

前交叉韧带损伤的继发性生物力学影响

前交叉韧带(anterior cruciate ligament,ACL)损伤往往会导致半月板及周边韧带的继发性损伤.由于离体实验和临床研究的局限性,损伤的机理仍未得到清晰的认识.基于核磁共振断层扫面图像重建了一个比较完整和精确的膝关节三维有限元模型.采用文献报道的解剖测量数据对关节的解剖尺寸进行了检验,证明模型在几何上比较准确.并且对文献报道的膝关节实验作了模拟,得出的计算结果与实验比较吻合,证明模型能够在一定程度上再现膝关节真实的运动情况.然后利用该模型对ACL损伤前后的膝关节进行模拟,分别在屈膝0°和30°的姿态下对胫骨施加前后方向和竖直方向的载荷.结果表明,ACL的损伤改变了关节组织上的应力分布:内侧半月板后段的应力显著增加;外侧半月板、后交叉韧带以及侧副韧带上的应力改变程度则取决于载荷的类型和屈膝的角度.该研究有助于认识ACL损伤之后周边组织的继发性损伤现象,并对容易诱发损伤的高危动作进行分析和预防,对研究ACL的损伤和治疗具有重要的意义.     

A new nonlinear multibody/finite element formulation for knee joint ligaments

The focus of this investigation is to study the mechanics of the human knee using a new method that integrates multibody system and large deformation finite element algorithms. The major bones in the knee joint consisting of the femur, tibia, and fibula are modeled as rigid bodies. The ligaments structures are modeled using the large displacement finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) with an implementation of a Neo-Hookean constitutive model that allows for large change in the configuration as experienced in knee flexion, extension, and rotation. The Neo-Hookean strain energy function used in this study takes into consideration the near incompressibility of the ligaments. The ANCF is used in the formulation of the algebraic equations that define the ligament/bone rigid connection. A unique feature of the ANCF model developed in this investigation is that it captures the deformation of the ligament cross section using structural finite elements such as beams. At the ligament/bone insertion site, the ANCF is used to define a fully constrained joint. This model will reflect the fact that the geometry, placement and attachment of the two collateral ligaments (the LCL and MCL), are significantly different from what has been used in most knee models developed in previous investigations. The approach described in this paper will provide a more realistic model of the knee and thus more applicable to future research studies on ligaments, muscles and soft tissues (LMST). Current finite element models are limited due to simplified assumptions for the spatial and time dependent material properties inherent in the anisotropic and anatomic constraints associated with joint stability, and the static conditions inherent in the analysis. The ANCF analysis is not limited to static conditions and results in a fully dynamic model that accounts for the distributed inertia and elasticity of the ligaments. The results obtained in this investigation show that the ANCF finite elements can be an effective tool for modeling very flexible structures like ligaments subjected to large flexion and extension. In the future, the more realistic ANCF models could assist in examining the mechanics of the knee to study knee injuries and possible prevention means, as well as an improved understanding of the role of each individual ligament in the diagnosis and assessment of disease states, aging and potential therapies.