M 2023 Strength Assessment of PET Composite Prosthetic Sockets.pdf (5.76 MB)
Download fileStrength assessment of PET composite prosthetic sockets
journal contribution
posted on 2023-09-15, 12:40 authored by Yogeshvaran R Nagarajan, Farukh Farukh, Vadim SilberschmidtVadim Silberschmidt, Karthikeyan Kandan, Radheshyam Rathore, Amit Kumar Singh, Pooja MukulA prosthesis is loaded by forces and torques exerted by its wearer, the amputee, and should withstand instances of peak loads without failure. Traditionally, strong prosthetic sockets were made using a composite with a variety of reinforcing fibres, such as glass, carbon, and Kevlar. Amputees in less-resourced nations can lack access to composite prosthetic sockets due to their unavailability or prohibitive cost. Therefore, this study investigates the feasibility of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibre-reinforced composites as a low-cost sustainable composite for producing functional lower-limb prosthetic sockets. Two types of these composites were manufactured using woven and knitted fabric with a vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) process. For direct comparison purposes, traditional prosthetic-socket materials were also manufactured from laminated composite (glass-fibre-reinforced (GFRP)), monolithic thermoplastic (polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)) were also manufactured. Dog-bone-shaped specimens were cut from flat laminates and monolithic thermoplastic to evaluate their mechanical properties following ASTM standards. The mechanical properties of PET-woven and PET-knitted composites were found to have demonstrated to be considerably superior to those of traditional socket materials, such as PP and HDPE. All the materials were also tested in the socket form using a bespoke test rig reproducing forefoot loading according to the ISO standard 10328. The static structural test of sockets revealed that all met the target load-bearing capacity of 125 kg. Like GFRP, the PETW and PETK sockets demonstrated higher deformation and stiffness resistance than their monolithic counterparts made from PP and HDPE. As a result, it was concluded that the PET-based composite could replace monolithic socket materials in producing durable and affordable prostheses.
Funding
ARM (Accessible Recycled Material) Prosthetics: developing capability, partnerships and research in India
Academy of Medical Sciences
Find out more...UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering project ‘Upcycled Plastic Prosthetics’ [grant reference: FF\1920\1\30]
History
School
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Published in
MaterialsVolume
16Issue
13Publisher
MDPIVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
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© the authorsPublisher statement
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Acceptance date
2023-06-21Publication date
2023-06-26Copyright date
2023eISSN
1996-1944Publisher version
Language
- en