Thermo-mechanical and degradation properties of naturally derived biocomposites for prosthesis applications: Analysis of the interface pressure and stress distribution on the developed socket

Nowadays, the reduction of petroleum products has been aggressively studied due to their environmental concerns and for finding alternative synthetic materials for sustainable development. Thus, naturally derived biocomposites have great potential for creating a sustainable economy with reduced environmental pollution. The present study deals in two major parts; first, the fabrication of the knee prosthetic socket from different laminate biocomposites (FFF, KKK, and RRR) and examined their mechanical performance, thermal stability and degradation behaviour. The interface pressure between the developed socket and residual limb has been examined using the F-socket sensor. Second, the output data of experiential tests and measured interface pressure have been used for numerical analysis to examine the equivalent stress, deformation and safety factor of the sockets at different loading conditions (500 N, 700 N and 900 N). The results observed that FFF biocomposites have maximum compressive strength (121.0 6MPa), impact strength (36.86 kJ/m2), and shear strength (28.51 MPa) which is 8.15%, 49.53%, and 58.88% higher than RRR biocomposites and 2.74%, 34.62%, and 39.28% higher compared to KKK biocomposites, respectively. RRR biocomposites recorded higher hardness (68.42) and fatigue endurance stress (82.86 MPa) due to higher brittleness properties. The thermogravimetric analysis and degradation behaviour have been analyzed to examine thermal stability, degradation temperature, and degradation weight loss behaviour of biocomposites. Finally, the stress generation on the developed socket during the gait cycle is much lower than its calculated strength that did not affect the performance of the socket. Therefore, laminated biocomposites can be an alternative biomaterial to plastics and conventional materials due to their lighter weight, higher flexibility, and economical to provide greater comfort to the users for knee prosthesis applications.