Optimal Material Selection for Manufacturing Prosthetic Foot

Abstract

The foot is an essential part of the components of the prosthesis. Therefore, the selected materials’ mechanical properties, cost, and weight must be considered when manufacturing the prosthetic foot. This study studied the mechanical properties of selected materials used for prosthetic feet. The material chosen is Carbon Fiber, Glass fiber, and hybrid composite material. This study aims to simulate chosen materials to find the optimal material selection for manufacturing prosthetic feet by assuming boundary conditions, reaction forces, design consideration, and application. The simulation was done by the finite element analysis ANSYS-14.5 program. The result of the force plate test shows the ground reaction force equal to 750N at heel strike,700N at mid-stance, and 650N at the toe-off stage. The finite element result shows the maximum Von-Misses stress equal to 119MPa at the toe-off stage, and the hybrid composite material has the maximum safety factor. Furthermore, the results showed that the mechanical properties of the hybrid composite materials are the best, as the yield stress is 560MPa, the ultimate stress is 678MPa, and the modulus of elasticity is 6.2GPa. The result shows that the Hybrid composite material has excellent improvement in mechanical properties such as lightweight, stiffness, high mechanical properties, and cost-efficiency. Hence by considering the body weight of the amputee, gait cycle, and analyzing the material properties, the hybrid composite material is the best suitable should be selected to manufacture foot prostheses.