Skeletal muscles power body movement by converting free energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work. During the landing phase of running or jumping some activated skeletal muscles are subjected to stretch. Upon stretch they absorb body energy quickly and effectively thus protecting joints and bones from impact damage. This is achieved because during lengthening, skeletal muscle bears higher f...

A mathematical analysis of the deformation of the foot is developed to determine the role that stretch of ligaments and tendons plays in absorbing shock following impact. Our analysis is based on an anatomical biomechanical model that includes each of the bones of the foot. We calculate the time course of the deflection of the joints and the elongation of the ligaments and tendons and determine...

This paper presents a new kind of shock absorber, hydraulic electromagnetic energy-regenerative shock absorber (HESA), which can recover energy from vibration of vehicles. The road excitation frequency, load resistance and damping ratio are found to greatly affect the energy recovery of HESA. Based on a quarter-car model, the optimal load resistance and damping ratio for maximizing the energy-r...

This paper introduces a novel passive suspension system for ground vehicles. This system is based on a flexible Electromagnetic Shock Absorber (EMSA). In the proposed system, efforts are made to a) select a high damping coefficient usable in a car b) determine Physical dimensions and geometry not much different from those of the mechanical shock absorbers and c) seletct EMSA weight and volume l...