Form Of Three-dimensional Structures Research Articles

Bio-Numerical Analysis of the Human Ankle-Foot Model Corresponding to Neutral Standing Condition.

Background: The foot is the most complex body’s structure; it is highly susceptible to disorders because of its loading pattern. The complexity of the foot structure geometry implies the use of reverse engineering tools to obtain a model that can accurately mimic the biomechanical behavior of the foot. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish a state-of-the-art ankle-foot finite element (FE) model with anatomically realistic geometry and structure in order to get the model that will suit all cases for future studies on stress injuries and foot insole designs under different loading conditions.Material and Methods: In this analytical study, tomography images were imported in DICOM format, after that, the object was exported in the form of three-dimensional structures in STL file format to define and assemble the structures. After that, the computer simulation on numerical model was done. One-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed, and a threshold (p<0.05) was used to indicate the significance of results.Results: The results showed no significant differences (P>0.05) between the values of the plantar pressure corresponding to neutral standing condition with other foot models in literature. The stresses transferred to the bone structure show that the relatively higher stress was located in the fifth, fourth and third tarsometatarsal, where the maximum von Mises stress in the bone structure was 2155.4 kPa. Conclusion: The state-of-the-art ankle-foot FE model with anatomically realistic geometry and structure will be very helpful for future studies on stress injuries and foot insole designs under different loading conditions.

SILATRANE-CONTAINING POLYMETHACRYLATES

The possibility of synthesizing silatrane-containing polymers was investigated using three different synthetic methods: the formation of silatrane fragments from polymers with trialkoxysilyl groups, the copolymerization of silatrane-containing monomers, and the reaction of silatranes with functional copolymers. The obtained polymethacrylate copolymers were characterized using gel permeation chromatography, IR and NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that depending on the synthesis scheme used, polymers were obtained in the form of three-dimensional structures or soluble products. It was established that the molecular weight of the synthesized polymers depended significantly on both the content of silatrane fragments and the synthesis technique used. It was shown that the modification of linear carboxyl-containing copolymers by silatranes allows the synthesis of high-molecular polymers with a high content of silatrane fragments. For the synthesized polymers, thermal properties were investigated, and the hydrophobicity of the surface of polymer films was also evaluated. It was found that all the studied polymers did not have clear melting and crystallization temperatures. The polymers were stable in an inert atmosphere up to 270-280 °C, whereas in air they decomposed at lower temperatures with the restructuring of the macromolecular skeleton and the formation of highly heat-resistant silicone structures. An increase in the content of silatrane moieties in the copolymers led to an increase in the hydrophilicity of polymers.