Considering persistent years, many researchers continuously seek an optimum way to utilize the idea of magnetorheology (MR) materials to be practically used for everyday life, particularly concerning resistivity sensing application. The rheology and resistivity of a graphite (Gr)-based magnetorheological elastomer (Gr-MRE) were experimentally evaluated in the present research. Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) samples were prepared by adding Gr as a new additive during MRE fabrication. The effect of additional Gr on the rheological and resistivity properties were investigated and compared with those of typical MREs without a Gr additive. Morphological aspects of Gr-MRE were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Rheological properties under different magnetic fields were evaluated using a parallel-plate rheometer. Subsequently, the resistivity of all samples was measured under different applied forces and magnetic fields. From the resistivity evaluation, two relationship curves resistance (R) under different applied forces (F) and different magnetic fields (B) were established and plotted by using an empirical model. It was observed from the FESEM images that the presence of Gr fractions arrangement contributes to the conductivity of MRE. It was also observed that, with the addition of Gr, rheological properties such as the field-dependent modulus can be improved, particularly at low strain amplitudes. It is also demonstrated that the addition of Gr in MRE can contribute to the likely use of force detection in tactile sensing devices.

In the past decade, advanced technologies in robotics have been explored to enhance the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients. Previous works have shown that gait assistance for post-stroke patients can be provided through the use of robotics technology in ancillary equipment, such as Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO). An AFO is usually used to assist patients with spasticity or foot drop problems. There are several types of AFOs, depending on the flexibility of the joint, such as rigid, flexible rigid, and articulated AFOs. A rigid AFO has a fixed joint, and a flexible rigid AFO has a more flexible joint, while the articulated AFO has a freely rotating ankle joint, where the mechanical properties of the AFO are more controllable compared to the other two types of AFOs. This paper reviews the control of the mechanical properties of existing AFOs for gait assistance in post-stroke patients. Several aspects that affect the control of the mechanical properties of an AFO, such as the controller input, number of gait phases, controller output reference, and controller performance evaluation are discussed and compared. Thus, this paper will be of interest to AFO researchers or developers who would like to design their own AFOs with the most suitable mechanical properties based on their application. The controller input and the number of gait phases are discussed first. Then, the discussion moves forward to the methods of estimating the controller output reference, which is the main focus of this study. Based on the estimation method, the gait control strategies can be classified into subject-oriented estimations and phase-oriented estimations. Finally, suggestions for future studies are addressed, one of which is the application of the adaptive controller output reference to maximize the benefits of the AFO to users.

This paper aims to present a preliminary study of control reference parameters for stance assistance among different subjects and walking speeds using a passive-controlled ankle foot orthosis. Four young male able-bodied subjects with varying body mass indexes (23.842 ± 4.827) walked in three walking speeds of 1, 3, and 5 km/h. Two control references, average ankle torque (aMa), and ankle angular velocity (aω), which can be implemented using a magnetorheological brake, were measured. Regression analysis was conducted to identify suitable control references in the three different phases of the stance. The results showed that aω has greater correlation (p) with body mass index and walking speed compared to aMa in the whole stance phase (p1(aω) = 0.666 > p1(aMa) = 0.560, p2(aω) = 0.837 > p2(aMa) = 0.277, and p3(aω) = 0.839 > p3(aMa) = 0.369). The estimation standard error (Se) of the aMa was found to be generally higher than of aω (Se1(aMa) = 2.251 > Se1(aω) = 0.786, Se2(aMa) = 1.236 > Se2(aω) = 0.231, Se3(aMa) = 0.696 < Se3(aω) = 0.755). Future studies should perform aω estimation based on body mass index and walking speed, as suggested by the higher correlation and lower standard error as compared to aMa. The number of subjects and walking speed scenarios should also be increased to reduce the standard error of control reference parameters estimation.

This study focused on the development of passive control ankle foot orthosis (PICAFO) for a specific purpose such as preventing foot drop in the post-stroke patient. The PICAFO utilized the magnetorheological (MR) brake as the actuator in which the braking torque was controlled by regulating direct current (DC) from current driver. The Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) was employed to control output voltage for current driver based on the inputs, i.e. Electromyography (EMG) bio signal and ankle position. Walking experiment to test the controller was carried out on a single subject where the input and output FLC was monitored and logged. The results showed that the output voltage of the FLC was 94.41% of the maximum output (high) on forward ankle position during swing phase and gradually increase from 9.667% to 77.34% of maximum output during stance phase. The FLC successfully controlled the output voltage according to the required needs. According to the experimental results, the FLC strategy was applicable for PICAFO realizing it contributes to prevention of foot drop.

Cross flow turbine can be one of the alternative energies for regions with low wind speed. Collision between wind and the blades which happened two times caused the cross flow turbine to have high power coefficient. Some factors that influence the turbine power coefficient are diameter ratio and blade number. The objective of the research was to study the effect of the diameter ratio and the blade number to the cross flow wind turbine performance. The study was done in two dimensional (2D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation method using the ANSYS-Fluent software. The turbine diameter ratio were 0.58, 0.63, 0.68 and 0.73. The diameter ratio resulting in the highest power coefficient value was then simulated by varying the number of blades, namely 16, 20 and 24. Each variation was tested on the wind speed of 2 m/s and at the tip speed ratio (TSR) of 0.1 to 0.4 with the interval of 0.1. The wind turbine with the ratio diameter of 0.68 and the number of blades of 20 generated the highest power coefficient of 0.5 at the TSR of 0.3.

This study aims to investigate an appropriate ankle velocity reference (ω _ref ), which is the average ankle velocity of a certain healthy subject when walking with a certain walking speed. The goal is to improve a Passive Controllable Ankle Foot Orthosis (PICAFO) by implementing the ankle velocity reference. Firstly, the function to estimate ω _ref , based on walking speed and body mass index (BMI), is obtained from 16 able-bodied subjects walking gait data. The effect of controlled stiffness (based on wref) to the user's ankle kinematics and muscle activity was evaluated by comparing it to other settings, such as walking barefooted and various constant damping stiffness (0%, 30%, 60%, and 100% of the maximum damping stiffness). Two able-bodied subjects (normal and overweight) participated in the evaluation, where they had to walk at two different walking speeds (1 and 2 km/h). The result showed that ankle kinematics and muscle activity were improved when w was controlled during walking speed of 1 km/h for both subjects. In terms of ankle kinematics, the toe clearance occurred, and walking stability increased. In terms of muscle activity, the average muscle activity had reduced by ~29% for the normal subject and by ~57% for an overweight subject, which shows that PICAFO provides necessary damping stiffness to replace the muscle works partially. In the future, by using the ω _ref based on walking speed and BMI, the therapists can skip the trial and error process of finding an appropriate PICAFO prescription for a post-stroke patient.