• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2014

This study investigated foot pressure patterns between experienced skiers and intermediate skiers during alpine skiing. Five experienced skiers and five intermediate skiers participated in this study. Foot pressure measurement system was used to measure vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and contact area under the six plantar regions. Each participant was asked to perform basic parallel turns and carved turns on a $18^{\circ}$ groomed slope. Each right turn was divided into the initiation phase, the steering phase 1 and 2. For the initiation phase of the basic parallel turns, significantly greater contact area was found on the LRF and RRF of the intermediate skiers (p<.05) and significantly greater vGRF was found on the LRF of the intermediate skiers (p<.05). Also significantly greater vGRF and contact area were found on the LRF and RRF of the intermediate skiers at the steering phase 1 (p<.05) and on the LRF of the intermediate skiers at the steering phase 2 (p<.05). For the carved turns, significantly greater vGRF and contact area were found on the LRF and RRF of the intermediate skiers at all three phase (p<.05). On the other hand, significantly greater vGRF was found on the RFF of the experienced skiers at the steering phase 1 (p<.05). Also significantly greater vGRF and contact area were found on the RMF of the experienced skiers at the steering phase 2 (p<.05). In order to increase performance, we suggest that the intermediate skiers should be unweighted at the initiation phase and shift the body weight to the forefoot of the outer foot at the steering phase 1. Also, the outer ski should be loaded more than the both skis at the steering phase 1 and 2.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.175-182
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate difference in fascicle behavior of the medial gastrocnemius during the locomotion with varying intensities, such as gait and one-legged and two-legged vertical jumping. Methods : Six subjects (3 males and 3 females; age: $27.2{\pm}1.6yrs.$, body mass: $62.8{\pm}9.8kg$, height: $169.6{\pm}8.5cm$) performed normal gait (G) at preferred speed and maximum vertical jumping with one (OJ) and two (TJ) legs. While subjects were performing the given tasks, the hip, knee and ankle joint motion and ground reaction force was monitored using a 8-infrared camera motion analysis system with two forceplates. Simultaneously, electromyography of the triceps surae muscles, and the fascicle length of the medial gastrocnemius were recorded using a real-time ultrasound imaging machine. Results : Comparing to gait, the kinematic and kinetic parameters of TJ and OJ were found to be significantly different. Along with those parameters, change in the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle-tendon complex (MTC) length ($50.57{\pm}6.20mm$ for TJ and $44.14{\pm}5.39mm$ for OJ) and changes in the fascicle length of the MG ($18.97{\pm}3.58mm$ for TJ and $20.31{\pm}4.59mm$ for OJ) were observed. Although the total excursion of the MTC and the MG fascicle length during the two types of jump were not significantly different, however the pattern of length changes were found to be different. For TJ, the fascicle length maintained isometric longer during the propulsive phase than OJ. Conclusion : One-legged and two-legged vertical jumping use different muscle-tendon interaction strategies.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2015

Objective : Walking with a Material handling is an activity frequently undertaken by agricultural workers in Korea, due to the nature of their work. This study aimed to investigate differences in biomechanical variables according to the mechanical alignment of the lower limbs when walking with a heavy load, and to use this as basic data in the design of various working environments to reduce the skeletomuscular burden on the knee joint. Method : The study subjects comprised of 22 right-foot dominant adult men and women aged between 20 and 23 years. The subjects were divided into a varus or valgus group according to the mechanical alignment of the lower limb by using radiographic findings. The subjects walked without any load and with a load of 10%, 20%, or 30% of their body weight held in front of them. The Kwon3d XP program was used to calculate biomechanical variables. Results : The flexion/extension moment of the knee joint showed a decreasing trend with increased load, irrespective of the mechanical alignment of the lower limb, while the varus group did not show normal compensatory action when supported by one leg at the point of maximum vertical ground reaction force. In addition, in terms of the time taken, subjects showed no difficulties in one-foot support time up to 20%/BW, but at 30%/BW, despite individual differences, there was an increase in single limb. The increased load resulted in a decrease in the ratio of standing phase to ensure physical stability. The valgus group showed a trend of increasing the stability of their center of mass with increasing load, through higher braking power in the early standing phase. Conclusion : In conclusion, although there was no statistical difference in biomechanical variables according to the mechanical alignment of the lower limbs, the varus group showed a more irregular walking pattern with a Material handling than the valgus group, partially proving the association between lower limb alignment and walking with a Material handling.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2005

Objectives : The effects of exercise on bone density have been found to be inconsistent in previous studies. We conducted a cross-sectional study in premenarcheal girls to test two hypotheses to explain these inconsistencies. Firstly,'the intensity of mechanical strain, in terms of the ground reaction force(GRF), has more important effects on the bone mass at a weight-bearing site', and secondly, 'calcium intake modifies the bone response to exercise'. Methods : The areal bone mineral density was measured at the Os calcis, using peripheral dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, in 91 premenarcheal girls aged between 9 and 12 years. The intensity of mechanical strain of exercise was assessed by a self-report questionnaire and scored by the GRF as multiples of body weight, irrespective of the frequency and duration of exercise. The energy and calcium intake were calculated from the 24-hour dietary recall. An analysis of covariance(ANCOVA) was used to determine the interaction and main effects of exercise and calcium on the bone density, after adjusting for age, weight, height and energy intake. Results : The difference in the bone density between moderate and low impact exercise was more pronounced in the high than low calcium intake group. The bone density for moderate impact exercise and high calcium intake was significantly higher than that for low impact exercise (p=0.046) and low calcium intake, after adjusting for age, weight, height and energy intake. Conclusions : Our study suggests that the bone density at a weight-bearing site is positively related to the intensity of mechanical loading exercise, and the calcium intake may modify the bone response to exercise at the loaded site in premenarcheal girls.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.191-203
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• 2009

The effect of stabilizing piles on cut slopes is checked and the behavior of slope soil and piles are observed throughout the year by field measurements on the large-scale cut slopes. First of all, the behavior of the slope soil was measured by inclinometers during slope modification. Landslides occurred in this area due to the soil cutting for slope modification. The horizontal deformations of slope soil are gradually increased and rapidly decreased at depth of sliding surface. As the result of measuring deformation, the depth of sliding surface below the ground surface can be known. Based on the measuring the depth of the sliding surface, some earth retention system including stabilizing piles were designed and constructed in this slope. To check the stability of the reinforced slope using stabilizing piles, an instrumentation system was installed. As the result of instrumentation, the maximum deflection of piles is measured at the pile head. It is noted that the piles deform like deflection on a cantilever beam. The maximum bending stress of piles is measured at the soil layer. The pile above the soil layer is subjected to lateral earth pressure due to driving force of the slope, while pile below soil layer is subjected to subgrade reaction against pile deflection. The deflection of piles is increased during cutting slope in front of piles for the construction of soil nailing. As a result of research, the effect and applicability of stabilizing piles in large-scale cut slopes could be confirmed sufficiently.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.39B no.7
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• pp.479-490
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• 2014

A lower extremity exoskeleton is a robot device that attaches to the lower limbs of the human body to augment or assist with the walking ability of the wearer. In order to improve the wearer's walking ability, the robot senses the wearer's walking locomotion and classifies it into a gait-phase state, after which it drives the appropriate robot motions for each state using its actuators. This paper presents a method by which the robot senses the wearer's locomotion along with a novel classification algorithm which classifies the sensed data as a gait-phase state. The robot determines its control mode using this gait-phase information. If erroneous information is delivered, the robot will fail to improve the walking ability or will bring some discomfort to the wearer. Therefore, it is necessary for the algorithm constantly to classify the correct gait-phase information. However, our device for sensing a human's locomotion has very sensitive characteristics sufficient for it to detect small movements. With only simple logic like a threshold-based classification, it is difficult to deliver the correct information continually. In order to overcome this and provide correct information in a timely manner, a probabilistic gait-phase classification algorithm is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm offers excellent accuracy.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.365-372
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• 2017

Squat exercise is one of the important free weight exercises that can safely and effectively expect the athletic performance by establishing the rationale. Therefore, it is necessary to study the side effects caused by incorrect exercise, scientific countermeasures and to develop a exercise estimation model. It is effective and accurate to use a variety of assistive devices to calibrate athletic posture. The issues of the structural analysis for designing a foot plate for squat exercise is to model the behavior by the dynamic behavior. It should be consider that the center of gravity of each segmented body is different when the maximum load is applied. It is applied to complete system design through simulation method with kinematic dynamic, ground reaction force and load analysis for the free weight exercise equipment, VR device, and safety foot plate. In this paper, the authors propose the design method for the vertical load distribution applied in the design of the foot plate used for the squat exercise mechanism, and based on these results, design make the more safe and reliable free weight exercise equipment system.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.45-51
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• 2021

The evaluation of the degree of compaction of the embankment area, which accounts for most of highway earthworks, is generally performed by a flat plate loading test. The plate loading test is a traditional test method and has high reliability in the field. However, as reaction force equipment must be carried out and it takes about 40 minutes per site during the test, there may be limitations in managing the entire expanse of earthworks. Meanwhile, in order to overcome this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport proposed a simple method of evaluating the level of compactness in the provisional guidelines for compaction management of the packaging infrastructure in 2010. However, it has not been utilized at the highway construction site until now, 10 years later. Therefore, this study attempted to verify the utility of the compaction evaluation method using LFWD (Light Falling Weight Deflectometer) of the impact loading method among the test methods suggested in the provisional guideline. To this end, the correlation was derived by conducting a plate loading test and an LFWD test for each site property and compaction degree. As a result of the test, there was no consistency of test data in the ground with a relative compaction of 80% or less. However, it was confirmed that the correlation has a tendency to increase beyond that. If the test method or test equipment is improved to ensure the consistency of the test values of the impact loading method in the future, it will play a big role in solving the blind spot for compaction management in the earthworks.