Rational Design of Composite Materials Tubular Elements of the Prosthetic Leg

Abstract

The paper considers a thin-walled tubular shell of a prosthetic leg made of a composite material based on single-directional, fabric or chaotic reinforcement structures. The character of loading is compression with bending. The paper presents an analytical study of the stability of the orthotropic shell under compression and a numerical study of the stability under compression with bending, taking into account embedded connecting elements. It also provides an assessment of the strength. It proves that the most rational reinforcement structure is a fabric one. With practically feasible thicknesses, sizes and loads of prosthesis operation, there is no loss of stability of the tubular elements of the prostheses.