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Biomechanics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Biomechanics

The Consequences Of Speed: Studies Of Cavitation During The Mantis Shrimp Strike And The Control Of Rapid Deceleration During Toad Landing, Suzanne M. Cox Nov 2016

The Consequences Of Speed: Studies Of Cavitation During The Mantis Shrimp Strike And The Control Of Rapid Deceleration During Toad Landing, Suzanne M. Cox

Doctoral Dissertations

There are consequences of moving quickly in this world. Here we investigate how two very different species, mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) and cane toads (Bufo marinus), negotiate forces that result from moving rapidly in different environments. To study the mechanical principles and fluid dynamics of ultrafast power-amplified systems, we built Ninjabot, a physical model of the extremely fast mantis shrimp. While mantis shrimp produce damaging cavitation upon impact with their prey, they do not cavitate during the forward portion of their strike despite extreme speeds. In order to study cavitation onset in non-linear flows common during …


The Influence Of Musculoskeletal Geometry On The Metabolic Cost Of Pedaling, Lex Gidley Mar 2016

The Influence Of Musculoskeletal Geometry On The Metabolic Cost Of Pedaling, Lex Gidley

Doctoral Dissertations

The human musculoskeletal system consists of several muscles crossing each joint. In the human lower limb, most major muscles cross either one or two joints; labeled as uniarticular or biarticular muscles, respectively. The major biarticular muscles of the leg are the rectus femoris, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. Several suggestions have been proposed as to how biarticular muscles may reduce the metabolic cost of human movement. Using experimental protocols, it is difficult to address the energetic effects of biarticular muscles, as individual muscle contributions to human movement cannot be measured and there is no way to determine what the effect might be …