Effects of Temperature on the Characterisation of a New Design for a Non-Articulated Prosthetic Foot

This paper presents a new design for a non-articulated prosthetic foot made from high density polyethylene. The mechanical and physical properties of the proposed design are then compared with a Solid Ankle Cushioned Heel (SACH) foot based in a numerical and experimental investigation. The prosthetic foot failure characteristics at room temperature and at a relatively high temperature (60 °C) were determined using a fatigue foot tester and the dorsiflexion angle was measured using inclined compression. The numerical solution can be used to find the safety factor for the new design using SolidWorks software and ANSYS. From the results in this case, the maximum dorsiflexion angle at toe off for the SACH and new prosthetic foot are 4.7° and 6.3°, respectively. Fracture of the new prosthetic foot occurs at 1,1047,321 and 1,089,463 cycles for tests performed at room temperature (23 °C) and at (60 °C) respectively.