OBJECTIVE Although variable-damping knee prostheses offer some improvements over mechanically passive prostheses to transfemoral amputees, there is insufficient evidence that such prostheses provide advantages at self-selected walking speeds. In this investigation, we address this question by comparing two variable-damping knees, the hydraulic-based Otto Bock C-leg and the magnetorheological-ba...

Application of Magneto-Rheological (MR) dampers in semi-active vibration dynamics control of a multi-cart system is studied. The dynamics and vibration behaviour of a two cart system is investigated mathematically and an experimental test-rig is employed to verify the model, experimentally. The Bouc-Wen model is utilized to represent the mathematical behaviour of MR damper. Different types of s...

Excessive vibration can be detrimental to the structural integrity of structures or can adversely affect the performance of instruments such as telescopes or antennas. One field in Structural Dynamics is the design and application of systems that reduce the amplitude and duration of vibration. There are two types of vibration suppression systems: passive and active. Passive means that the dampi...

Excessive vibration can be detrimental to the structural integrity of structures or can adversely affect the performance of instruments such as telescopes or antennas. One field in Structural Dynamics is the design and application of systems that reduce the amplitude and duration of vibration. There are two types of vibration suppression systems: passive and active. Passive means that the dampi...

When a piezoelectric transducer is incorporated in a mechanical structure, it is possible to damp the structural vibrations of the base structure by passive energy dissipation in the electrical domain [1]. Due to the strong electromechanical coupling in piezoelectric elements, the mechanical energy can be efficiently converted to electrical energy. By shunting the piezoelectric element to a pas...

Acoustic Black Holes (ABH), a new method of passive vibration damping, have received much interest recently due to their lightweight and economically efficient properties. This paper aims to establish the optimal shape of the damping layer treated on ABH under harmonic loading. Firstly, a validation of numerical scheme that is used throughout this paper is carried out. A good agreement of the n...

Passive shunt damping involves the connection of an electrical shunt network to a structurally attached piezoelectric transducer. In recent years, a large body of research has focused on the design and implementation of shunt circuits capable of significantly reducing structural vibration. This paper introduces an efficient, light weight, and small-in-size technique for implementing piezoelectr...

In this study, we assessed kinematics and viscoelastic features of knee joint in adults with Down syndrome (DS) by means of the Wartenberg pendulum test. This test allows the measuring of the kinematics of the knee joint during passive pendular motion of leg under the influence of gravity. In addition, by a combination of kinematic and anthropometric data, pendulum test provides estimates of jo...