Institution: | Design Division, Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, U.S.A. Department of Mechancial Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. |
Abstract: | A mathematical model for the single support phase of normal, level, human walking is formulated. The motion of the lower extremity is synthesized using a preprogrammed set of inputs, recognized by the model as a simple collection of applied joint moments. Two mechanisms are forwarded as candidates for producing the observed peaks in the vertical ground reaction. The first, stance knee flexion-extension, generates the necessary level of whole-body vertical acceleration during the initial region of single support (opposite toe-off to heel-off). A model accounting for the determinants of foot and knee interaction then predicts the second peak to be the result of an increasing ankle moment in the region from heel-off to opposite heel-strike. |