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Brigham Young University

Theses and Dissertations

Stiffness

Mechanical Engineering

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Frequency Response And Recovery Of Muscles And Effects Of Wrapping The Lower Leg On Surface Velocity Measurements, Cameron David Smallwood Jun 2019

Frequency Response And Recovery Of Muscles And Effects Of Wrapping The Lower Leg On Surface Velocity Measurements, Cameron David Smallwood

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies. The objective of the first study was to find the frequency response and stiffness of the biceps brachii muscle group during recovery from exercise induced damage and to determine whether these data could be used to track muscle recovery by correlating changes in the frequency response with changes in muscle stiffness. Stiffness moduli were collected using Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) which were then applied to a proportional first mode frequency analysis. Data were collected for the muscle stiffness and frequency response for fifteen subjects (25.6 +- 4.5). By comparing the proportion of the …


Refinement And Characterization Of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models, Shelby Charisse Ward Jul 2014

Refinement And Characterization Of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models, Shelby Charisse Ward

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding vocal fold mechanics is an integral part of voice research and synthetic vocal fold models are an essential tool in characterizing vocal fold mechanics. These models contain multiple layers with varying stiffness, much like human vocal folds. The purpose of this thesis is to improve the current models and modeling techniques, as well as investigate the impact of asymmetry on model vibration. A new design for an MRI-based model is detailed. This model has a more realistic geometry than the simplified models and mimics some of the vibratory characteristics observed in human vocal folds. The MRI-based model was used …


The Effects Of Wrist Orthoses On The Stiffness Of Wrist Rotations, Daniel Brad Seegmiller Dec 2013

The Effects Of Wrist Orthoses On The Stiffness Of Wrist Rotations, Daniel Brad Seegmiller

Theses and Dissertations

Wrist orthoses are the most common upper limb orthoses, being used by thousands of individuals each year to stabilize, immobilize, or support the wrist joint. Wrist orthoses achieve their function by altering the stiffness of the wrist joint (Figure 1-1). However, there is no quantitative understanding of how wrist orthoses affect wrist stiffness, and consequently, wrist orthosis development often relies on feel, intuition, or empirical heuristics rather than a methodical, quantitative approach. Because wrist movement control is dominated by wrist joint stiffness (Charles and Hogan 2011) a quantitative understanding of how wrist orthoses alter the stiffness of the wrist is …


Passive Stiffness Of Coupled Wrist And Forearm Rotations, Will Brandon Drake Mar 2013

Passive Stiffness Of Coupled Wrist And Forearm Rotations, Will Brandon Drake

Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of wrist rotations are dominated by joint stiffness, which the neuromuscular system must account and compensate for when controlling wrist movements. Because wrist stiffness is anisotropic, movements in some directions require less torque than movements in others, creating opportunities to follow "paths of least resistance." Forearm pronation-supination (PS) can combine with wrist flexion-extension (FE) and radial-ulnar deviation (RUD) to allow the wrist to rotate in directions of least stiffness. Evaluating this hypothesis, and understanding the control of combined wrist and forearm rotations in general, requires a knowledge of the stiffness (the dominant mechanical impedance) encountered during combined wrist …


A Comparative Study Of Strength And Stiffness Of Thin-Walled Specimens Fabricated By Fdm And 3d Printing Technologies, Miranda Rodrigo Jul 2012

A Comparative Study Of Strength And Stiffness Of Thin-Walled Specimens Fabricated By Fdm And 3d Printing Technologies, Miranda Rodrigo

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid Prototyped part failure constitutes a major issue for both RP providers and customers. When parts fail the reputation of the vendor is heavily deteriorated, customer dissatisfaction increase and replacement of the broken parts is often necessary to avoid the loss of future business. Product design teams often run into situations where Rapid Prototyped parts are not able to withstand shipping and handling and delivered broken or while demonstrating and examining the parts. When done in the face of customers this builds a perception of poor quality and lack of aptitude on the design group as well as the RP …


Characterization And Biomechanical Analysis Of The Human Lumbar Spine With In Vitro Testing Conditions, Dean K. Stolworthy Jan 2012

Characterization And Biomechanical Analysis Of The Human Lumbar Spine With In Vitro Testing Conditions, Dean K. Stolworthy

Theses and Dissertations

Biomechanical testing of cadaveric spinal segments forms the basis for our current understanding of healthy, pathological, and surgically treated spinal function. Over the past 40 years there has been a substantial amount of data published based on a spinal biomechanical testing regimen known as the flexibility method. This data has provided valuable clinical insights that have shaped our understanding of low back pain and its treatments. Virtually all previous lumbar spinal flexibility testing has been performed at room temperature, under very low motion rates, without the presence of a compressive follower-load to simulate upper body weight and the action of …


The Development And Evaluation Of The Knife Finite Element, Brett W. Clark Aug 1996

The Development And Evaluation Of The Knife Finite Element, Brett W. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the development and evaluation of the knife finite element which is a degenerate case of a hexahedral element. The knife connectivity is an artifact of automatic all-hexahedral mesh generators. Currently, knives are propagated to the surface of the mesh for removal. However since this disturbs the surface mesh, other alternatives are needed. This thesis investigates the option of leaving the knife connectivity in the mesh and treating it as a valid finite element. The shape functions and stiffness matrix for the knife element are derived and evaluated using theoretical and practical evaluations. It is concluded that the …