DESIGN OF THE HYDRAULIC CYLINDER ASSEMBLY OF AN ABOVE-KNEE PROSTHESIS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF MASS REDUCTION

<p>The hydraulic cylinders used on the above-knee leg prosthesis must meet  very precise geometric, functional and mass requirements. Such can only  be found abroad, but procurement is complicated and prices are high. </p> <p>The topic of this paper is the analysis of the possibility of manufacturing  and purchasing such cylinders on the domestic market, and the  optimization of solutions obtained from domestic companies with the aim  of reducing mass. In the paper, an analytical and numerical analysis of  the minimum required wall thickness of the cylinder tube and the minimum thickness of the connecting rod was performed. At the end of the paper, an optimized solution with reduced mass by about 70% <br />compared to the conceptual solution was given.</p>