Author: Kenny Cho
Cho, Kenny, 2021 Analysis of the force applied to stump support in single-legged para-cycling, Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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Current studies have highlighted the importance and attributes of pedalling movement in relation to the performance of able-bodied cyclists. The coordination of an able-bodied cyclist’s pedalling movement, which consists of pushing and pulling actions, is well understood; lower extremity joints and related muscle groups work to rotate the crank via pedals. However, a para-cyclist with amputation of one-leg performs both the pushing and pulling action by a unilateral leg. Despite the information on the neuromuscular activation pattern of a single-legged amputee’s pedalling motion, there is still a lack of research on amputee cyclists who utilise a stump support during cycling, competing in different classifications. The main purpose of this study is to develop a protocol to assess the force applied on the stump support during cycling. The first objective is to establish a relationship between the force applied to the stump support during cycling. Finite element analysis (FEA) will be performed to propose a viable location for the strain gauges to be placed. Experimental study will be conducted to verify this location. The second objective is to use the measured strain to derive the direction of the force applied to the stump support. This allows for the characteristics of the force to be identified in terms of direction. FEA results showed that there was a relationship between the force applied onto the stump support, and the strain found on the stump support. Following the FEA, this observed linear relationship was verified during experimental testing. Both the FEA and the experimental study showed that there is a linear relationship between the maximum strain and the angle between forces applied to the stump support. The establishment of this relationship further indicates that the direction of the force being applied to the stump support during cycling can be derived by analysing the strain on the stump support. This method will allow for identification of the direction that the force is applied onto the stump support.
Keywords: Para-cycling, Kinematics, Stump support, Finite element analysis (FEA), Strain gauge
Subject: Engineering thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2021
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Dr. David Hobbs