An Investigation into the Effect of Adding Carbon and Glass Fibres to UHMWPE Fibres on the Mechanical Characteristics of a Sports Prosthetic Foot

Abstract

Due to their qualities and advantages, such as light weight, high rigidity, and high performance, composite materials have been used in a wide variety of industries and sectors. For example, carbon fibres are used in the construction of aircraft, while ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is used in the fabrication of medical artificial joints. In this study, the blade dimensions were estimated using side profiles from a European patent specification and the mechanical properties of numerous layers of composite materials (UHMWPE, carbon, glass fibre, and Perlon) utilized in the fabrication of sports prosthesis were investigated experimentally, theoretically, and numerically, and the results were compared, as well as the theory of failure calculated. The influence of data entered into the ANSYS programme was also investigated in the case of isotropic or orthotropic materials. The findings indicate that longitudinal young modules are experimentally and theoretically equivalent. While the material ISO or Ortho is considered and its information is entered into the ANSYS programme for the same lamina, similar results are obtained under the same boundary condition, as was demonstrated when computing the theory of failure. Additionally, it was demonstrated in this research that layering woven carbon fibre on top of layers of UHMWPE woven fabrics had a greater effect than layering woven glass fibre when fabricating the sports prosthetic foot.