Force transducer design: a new approach combining nonlinear finite element analysis and robust design.

Designing a strain gage based force transducer is considered more of an art than an engineering process. Only general guidelines are available, and many trial and error iterations are needed to optimize the geometry and minimize the errors caused by nonlinear behavior of the structure. A new method, based on nonlinear finite element analysis and robust design principles, is proposed. A matrix of experiments considers relevant geometric and loading parameters. The behavior of the structure under different combinations of these parameters is determined by calculating the strain at different locations (suitable for strain gage installation) using finite element models. The nonlinear behavior of the transducer is identified by comparing the results of the nonlinear finite element analysis with those obtained using a linear finite element analysis. A signal-to-noise ratio is defined to quantify the nonlinearities and how the considered parameters affect them. An analysis of variance is employed to determine their relative influence. Based on the results of the statistical analysis, it is possible to identify the best value for each geometric parameter that would reduce, if not eliminate the nonlinearities. Once these optimal geometric parameters are chosen, a prototype can be built, instrumented with strain gages, and tested, to validate the obtained design. To illustrate this new proposed methodology, and appreciate its advantages over current practice of designing a force transducer, an example of the step-by-step procedure is illustrated considering a thin-wall cylindrical transducer.

A finite element survey of eleven endosseous implants.

Eleven different post-type endosseous implants were biomechanically analyzed by use of the finite element method to compile a list of features that could be used to design an optimal post-type endosseous implant. Stress magnitudes and contours within each implant and within the surrounding bone were calculated. Implant features causing high stresses and low stresses, possibly contributing to pathologic bone resorption and bone atrophy were noted. Although this preliminary survey was not complete, tentative suggestions in implant design for improved implant performance were made.

Finite element analysis of bone-adapted and bone-bonded endosseous implants.

The use of bioactive coatings on endosseous implants to induce bone bonding to the implants has become popular in recent years. The actual benefit from these coatings, however, remains controversial. This study compared three endosseous implants by using finite element analysis to determine whether bone-bonding or bone-adaptation (osseo-integration) was biomechanically more beneficial. Results indicated that although a bonded interface between an implant and its host tissues may be biochemically beneficial, bone bonding, by any means, may not be biomechanically beneficial to the implant or the surrounding bone. Neither clinicians nor manufacturers should assume that bioactive coatings or bone-bonding in general improve the biomechanical prognoses of endosteal postdental implants.

Alternative materials for three endosseous implants.

Three endosseous post-type implant geometries were evaluated: a serrated solid with a 2-degree taper and a rectangular cross section, a cylindrical screw-type solid, and a finned solid with a 1-degree 9' taper and a circular cross section. Each implant geometry was analyzed with 10 different moduli of elasticity. Stress contour plots were used to identify which implant material was best suited to each implant geometry. Careful examination of all of the contour plots showed that, for all geometries, increasing the material stiffness transmitted more of the occlusal load to the apical bone. These plots further suggested that an implant material can be too stiff as the punching stresses increase at the apex of the implant. Of the three endosseous implants analyzed, only the finned solid type seemed to be made of the proper material, titanium alloy. The screw-type implant, made of sapphire, should be made of aluminum or possibly titanium. The serrated implant, made of polycrystalline alumina, was too stiff. An implant's elastic behavior is not the only governing factor. An implant's geometry seems to be the determining factor in properly distributing stresses from the implant to the bone.

Joint models, degrees of freedom, and anatomical motion measurement.

When the motion associated with an anatomical joint is to be measured, a kinematic model for the joint must first be established. The joint model will have from one to six degrees of freedom, and both the measurement technique and the means used to describe the motion will be influenced by the model and its degrees of freedom. This paper discusses the modeling and measurement of anatomical joint motion from a kinematics viewpoint. A review of the literature pertaining to measurement techniques, kinematic assumptions, and motion descriptions for anatomical joint motion is presented. One, two, three and six degree-of-freedom models for various anatomical joints have appeared in the literature, and the applicability of these models is compared and discussed.

Preliminary study of the in vivo motion in the canine shoulder.

An instrumented spatial linkage was used to measure the total motion in a canine shoulder as the dog was engaged in a variety of activities, including walking on a level carousel track, as well as over a hurdle, up and down a step, and up and down a ramp placed on the same track. For each activity, the motion data were analyzed, using 2 procedures. First, the linkage data and the joint contour data were combined by computer, and the motion was represented by a series of sequential computer drawings showing the scapular and humeral articular surfaces in their proper relative positions for selected increments of time during the various activities described. As an alternate but approximate method for describing the relative humeral-scapular motion, rotations about 3 mutually perpendicular axes through the average center of the shoulder joint were determined.