Date of Award

Summer 2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Program/Concentration

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Director

Sebastian Bawab

Committee Member

Gene J. Hou

Committee Member

Cheng Y. Lin

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E56 D52 2008

Abstract

An experimental setup simulating the dynamic environment in a high sea state is developed for the lower extremities to study the mitigation of shock impact. A single degree of freedom machine is equipped with six linear induction motors to produce impact acceleration ranging from 0.5G to 4G. The experiments are carried out along the dummy leg by using two configurations, one without a knee brace and one with a knee brace. Force and acceleration data is collected using a data acquisition system.

To develop the analytical model of the same experimental setup, the knee brace and dummy leg were scanned using a FARO digitizer. The data obtained is imported into 3D CAD software to generate surface data. These surfaces are then imported into ESI Easi-Crash software, which is used for mesh generation. This information is used to create geometric properties, inertial properties and joint definition in dynamic modeling software, MADYMO.

The experimental and computer model for cases with and without the brace are provided with the same input pulse. Results are compared to validate the computer model and to study the effectiveness of a knee brace in shock mitigation.

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DOI

10.25777/wgrv-x324

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