On dynamic analysis of contact problems with freeform surfaces : a knee joint 3D-study

Abstract

One of the biomechanical roles of the knee joint is to withstand high loading forces. Thus, this articulation is quite susceptible to injuries and diseases, which may cause anomalous contact loads, asymmetrical gait patterns and local pain that, ultimately, leads to a knee replacement. In view of that, identifying and quantifying the loads placed on the human knee is critical for understanding realistic joint mechanics. Since there is no standard non-invasive experimental approach able to measure in vivo knee dynamic loads, such quantities have to be predicted by making use of computational methods. The efficiency of these computational methods is a primary concern for a contact formulation to be used in multibody system (MBS) dynamics. In fact, it has been recognized by many researchers that most of the time consumed in simulating contact phenomena is spent on the contact detection phase. This computational time motivated the development of an efficient methodology to predict the contact forces that is here presented.