DIGITAL PROTOTYPING OF A MAGNETORHEOLOGICAL KNEE FOR PROSTHESES AND EXOSKELETONS
Rafhael Milanezi de Andrade1; Arnaldo Gomes Leal Junior1; Luiz Henrique Dalvi Alves1; Antônio Bento Filho1; Marcos Pinotti Barbosa2
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo; 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-0191
Resumo
Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are smart materials which can have their properties controlled by an induced magnetic field. MR fluids have been used in devices with multiple purposes such as damping vibrations in structures and vehicle suspensions, in valves, in prostheses and others. MR actuators are examples of such devices. With MR fluid, the actuator possesses multiple functions working as motor, clutch, or brake. Since the knee develops active torque and brake function in human gait, a MR actuator may be a promising application in order to replace or support the human knee. Despite advances and research in assistive technology, there are no MR actuators being used in such applications yet. The present paper presents the digital prototyping of a MR actuator for knee prostheses and exoskeletons. Digital prototyping is an efficient approach to product development that lets someone design, visualize, and simulate parts and mechatronic devices. It is possible to make detailed design of the device and get the data for dynamic model simulation. The digital prototype's dimensions, mass and inertia properties are used to build the dynamic model for simulations and implementation of a controller. The results show that the developed actuator is promising for the proposed applications, which require multiple functions with compact size and quick response time.
Palavras-chave: Magnetorheological actuator; prostheses; exoskeletons; digital prototyping; biomechanics