Biomechanical Structural Effect of Pinball Region Contact Applied to a Finite Element Model of Human Foot

Developing a finite element model of the human foot to analyze the numerical effect of the contact between its bones can also help to understand the complex biomechanics of this member. Therefore, in this work, a three-dimensional model of finite elements of the foot is developed, in order to determine the contact radius between each pair of bones, which help to achieve an adequate distribution of body weight and be able to perform a correct characterization of the biomechanical effect of the foot. In the finite element model developed in this work, the cartilage was replaced by the pair of contact between two bodies (bones) and was simplified to the bony and ligamentous system. It was observed that the radius of the contact sphere of the pinball region has a great impact on the distribution of reactions with the ground (GRF) and the general behavior of the simulation. By varying the contact parameters, it was possible to reduce the error of the results obtained by the simulation with respect to those obtained experimentally up to a value of less than 5%; emphasizing the importance of checking the contact parameters before continuing with a simulation of finite elements.