Parameter identification of hyperelastic material properties of the heel pad based on an analytical contact mechanics model of a spherical indentation

Ryo Suzuki, Kohta Ito, Taeyong Lee, Naomichi Ogihara

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Accurate identification of the material properties of the plantar soft tissue is important for computer-aided analysis of foot pathologies and design of therapeutic footwear interventions based on subject-specific models of the foot. However, parameter identification of the hyperelastic material properties of plantar soft tissues usually requires an inverse finite element analysis due to the lack of a practical contact model of the indentation test. In the present study, we derive an analytical contact model of a spherical indentation test in order to directly estimate the material properties of the plantar soft tissue. Force-displacement curves of the heel pads are obtained through an indentation experiment. The experimental data are fit to the analytical stress-strain solution of the spherical indentation in order to obtain the parameters. A spherical indentation approach successfully predicted the non-linear material properties of the heel pad without iterative finite element calculation. The force-displacement curve obtained in the present study was found to be situated lower than those identified in previous studies. The proposed framework for identifying the hyperelastic material parameters may facilitate the development of subject-specific FE modeling of the foot for possible clinical and ergonomic applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)753-760
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
Volume65
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Elasticity
  • Finite-element analysis
  • Foot
  • Plantar soft tissue

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