No abstract

Loss of lumbar lordosis in flatback patients leads to changes in the walking mechanism like knee flexion. Such variations in flatback patients are predicted to alter the characteristics of total knee replacement (TKR) contact, so their TKR will show different wear characteristics with a normal gait. However, the relevant study is limited to predicting the wear depth of TKR for normal gait mechanisms or collecting and analyzing kinematic data on flatback gait mechanisms. The objective of this study was to compare wear in TKR of flatback patients with people without flatback syndrome. The main difference between the normal gait mechanism and the flat back gait mechanism is the knee flexion remain section and the tendency to change the vertical force acting on the knee. Thus, in this paper, A finite element-based computational wear simulation for the gait cycle using kinematic data for normal gait and flat gait were performed, and substituting the derived contact pressure and slip distance into the Archard formula, a proven wear model, wear depth was predicted. The FE analysis results show that the wear volume in flatback patients is greater. The results obtained can provide guidance on the TKR design to minimize wear on the knee implant for flatback patients.

A new structural design technology has been recently developed to build a new type of land vehicle in military use. While thick panels are only employed in conventional land vehicle structures, solid frames combined with relatively thin composite panels are employed for the new type of vehicle. The structural integrity of the new vehicle structure type is mainly guaranteed by the solid frames while composite panels are used to protect passengers and equipments of the vehicle. To design such a frame-panel structure, frame design needs to be done first. In this paper, a two-stage design process is proposed employing topology and cross section optimization methods. Overall frame arrangement of the new vehicle structure is obtained by the topology optimization in the first design stage and the detailed dimensions of the frames are obtained by the cross section optimization in the second design stage.

A new manufacturing technology is being employed to build a new type of armored vehicle. While thick panels are welded together in the old manufacturing technology, relatively thin panels are welded to a frame structure in the new manufacturing technology. The structural integrity of the new type of armor vehicles can be maintained mainly by the frame structures while the panel thickness is reduced significantly to reduce the total vehicle weight. Since the dynamic characteristics of a frame-panel hybrid structure are different from those of the old type of structure which consists of only thick panels, they should be identified to achieve a good performance of the vehicle. For this purpose, a proper FE model of the hybrid type of structure needs to be developed. In the present study, FE models are proposed to represent the frame-panel hybrid type structure efficiently. The impact energy propagation, the transient response and the modal characteristics are investigated with the FE models.

Flexible structures undertaking impact while undergoing overall motion can be found in several industrial products these days. Transient motion and stress induced by impact should be considered elaborately to extend the life of the products. In the present study, a modeling method for a flexible beam with a tip mass that undertakes impact while undergoes large overall motion is presented. The tip mass takes the impact force and the transient responses of the beam are calculated by employing the assumed mode method. The stiffness variation caused by the large overall motion is considered in this modeling. The effects of the tip mass and the angular speed of the beam on the transient responses are investigated.