Articular human joint modelling

Copyright @ Cambridge University Press 2009.The work reported in this paper encapsulates the theories and algorithms developed to drive the core analysis modules of the software which has been developed to model a musculoskeletal structure of anatomic joints. Due to local bone surface and contact geometry based joint kinematics, newly developed algorithms make the proposed modeller different from currently available modellers. There are many modellers that are capable of modelling gross human body motion. Nevertheless, none of the available modellers offer complete elements of joint modelling. It appears that joint modelling is an extension of their core analysis capability, which, in every case, appears to be musculoskeletal motion dynamics. It is felt that an analysis framework that is focused on human joints would have significant benefit and potential to be used in many orthopaedic applications. The local mobility of joints has a significant influence in human motion analysis, in understanding of joint loading, tissue behaviour and contact forces. However, in order to develop a bone surface based joint modeller, there are a number of major problems, from tissue idealizations to surface geometry discretization and non-linear motion analysis. This paper presents the following: (a) The physical deformation of biological tissues as linear or non-linear viscoelastic deformation, based on spring-dashpot elements. (b) The linear dynamic multibody modelling, where the linear formulation is established for small motions and is particularly useful for calculating the equilibrium position of the joint. This model can also be used for finding small motion behaviour or loading under static conditions. It also has the potential of quantifying the joint laxity. (c) The non-linear dynamic multibody modelling, where a non-matrix and algorithmic formulation is presented. The approach allows handling complex material and geometrical nonlinearity easily. (d) Shortest path algorithms for calculating soft tissue line of action geometries. The developed algorithms are based on calculating minimum ‘surface mass’ and ‘surface covariance’. An improved version of the ‘surface covariance’ algorithm is described as ‘residual covariance’. The resulting path is used to establish the direction of forces and moments acting on joints. This information is needed for linear or non-linear treatment of the joint motion. (e) The final contribution of the paper is the treatment of the collision. In the virtual world, the difficulty in analysing bodies in motion arises due to body interpenetrations. The collision algorithm proposed in the paper involves finding the shortest projected ray from one body to the other. The projection of the body is determined by the resultant forces acting on it due to soft tissue connections under tension. This enables the calculation of collision condition of non-convex objects accurately. After the initial collision detection, the analysis involves attaching special springs (stiffness only normal to the surfaces) at the ‘potentially colliding points’ and motion of bodies is recalculated. The collision algorithm incorporates the rotation as well as translation. The algorithm continues until the joint equilibrium is achieved. Finally, the results obtained based on the software are compared with experimental results obtained using cadaveric joints

Grasp planning in discrete domain.

by Lam Miu-Ling.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-67).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1Chapter Chapter 2. --- Mathematical Preliminaries and Problem Definition --- p.6Chapter 2.1 --- Grasp Synthesis in Discrete DomainChapter 2.2 --- AssumptionsChapter 2.3 --- Frictionless Form-Closure GraspChapter 2.4 --- Frictional Form-Closure GraspChapter 2.5 --- Problem DefinitionChapter Chapter 3. --- A Qualitative Test Algorithm and a Local Search Algorithm --- p.18Chapter 3.1 --- A Qualitative Test AlgorithmChapter 3.2 --- A Local Search AlgorithmChapter 3.3 --- Grasp Planning under Kinematic ConstraintsChapter Chapter 4. --- A Divide-and-Conquer Technique --- p.29Chapter 4.1. --- Determining a Separating HyperplaneChapter 4.2. --- Divide-and-Conquer in Frictionless CaseChapter 4.3. --- Divide-and-Conquer in Frictional CaseChapter Chapter 5. --- Implementation and Examples --- p.40Chapter 6.1. --- Examples of Frictionless GraspsChapter 6.2. --- Examples of Frictional GraspsChapter 6.3. --- Examples of Grasps under Kinematic ConstraintsChapter Chapter 6. --- Conclusions --- p.62Bibliography --- p.6

Design and Analysis of an Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) for AFIT\u27s 6U Standard Bus

The design and testing of AFIT\u27s 6U Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) are explored to establish 3-axis attitude control. The development of AFIT\u27s 6U CubeSat standard bus is an on-going research effort designed to create in-house CubeSat bus components and software. The 6U chassis measures approximately 11 x 24 x 37 cu cm and can have a mass up to 12 kg. The larger bus size (as compared to the more common 3U CubeSat) allows for increased power capabilities and potential to host multiple or larger payloads. Individual ADCS hardware components were either commercially purchased or built in-house and include an IMU, external magnetometer, 4-wheel reaction wheel assembly, and three torque coils. The ADCS software developed as part of this research includes the QUEST attitude determination algorithm, B-dot de-tumbling algorithm, and PD control algorithm with momentum dumping capability. To facilitate ADCS testing, an air bearing assembly was designed and set up in AFIT\u27s existing Helmholtz cage. The air bearing provides a near-frictionless environment with 360 deg rotation about one axis and limited (35 deg) rotations about the other two axes. The Helmholtz cage consists of three orthogonal magnetic coil pairs that can create a uniform + or - 2 Gauss magnetic eld within the cage. This comprehensive ADCS testing environment was used to test a ground-based 6U CubeSat complete with ADCS, CDH, and EPS components. The custom-built torque coils demonstrated torquing abilities on the spacecraft and yield a 0.66 A-sq m magnetic moment. In addition, single-axis attitude control was achieved using the reaction wheel assembly. Recommendations for further developments and testing are included to achieve the desired 3-axis control

Discrete element modelling of the dynamic behaviour of non-spherical particulate materials

PhD ThesisA numerical model based on the discrete element (DE) method, for modelling the flow of irregularly shaped, smooth-surfaced particles in a 3-D system is presented. An existing DE program for modelling the contact between spherical particles in periodic space (without real walls or boundaries) was modified to model non-spherical particles in a system with containing walls. The new model was validated against analytical calculations of single particle movements and also experimentally against data from physical experiments using synthetic non-spherical particles at both a particle and bulk scale. It was then used to study the effect of particle shape on the flow behaviour of assemblies of particles with various aspect ratios discharging from a flat-bottomed hopper. The particles were modelled using the Multi-Sphere Method (MSM) which is based on the CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry) technique for construction of complex solids by combining primitive shapes. In this method particle geometry is approximated using overlapping spheres of arbitrary diameter which are fixed in position relative to each other. The contact mechanics and contact detection method are the same as those used for spheres, except that translation and rotation of element spheres are calculated with respect to the motion of the whole particle....Numerical simulations of packing and flow of particles from a flat-bottomed hopper with a range of aspect ratios were performed to investigate the effect of particle shape on packing and flow behaviour of a particulate assembly. It was found that the particle shape influenced both bed structure and flow characteristics such as flow pattern, shear band strength and the occurrence of bridging. The flow of the bed of spherical particles was smoother than the flow of beds of elongated particles in which flow was fluctuating and there was more resistance to shear.Ministry of Culture and Higher Education of IRAN: University of Mashhad

Modeling of ground excavation with the particle finite element method

The present work introduces a new application of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) for the modeling of excavation problems. PFEM is presented as a very suitable tool for the treatment of excavation problem. The method gives solution for the analysis of all processes that derive from it. The method has a high versatility and a reasonable computational cost. The obtained results are really promising.Postprint (published version

Survey on model-based manipulation planning of deformable objects

A systematic overview on the subject of model-based manipulation planning of deformable objects is presented. Existing modelling techniques of volumetric, planar and linear deformable objects are described, emphasizing the different types of deformation. Planning strategies are categorized according to the type of manipulation goal: path planning, folding/unfolding, topology modifications and assembly. Most current contributions fit naturally into these categories, and thus the presented algorithms constitute an adequate basis for future developments.Preprin