HUMVIB – HUMan-structure interaction and gait adaptation during locomotion on VIBrating structures

受越来越严格的建筑要求的推动，土木工程目前的趋势是设计和建造更细长、更轻、跨度更大的结构。在结构受到人类运动（例如人行天桥）的情况下，这通常会导致过度的水平的结构振动。因此，人类必须使其步态适应底层结构的振动，以保持平衡。反过来，步态的变化会影响结构响应，从而导致人与结构之间的持续相互作用。然而，今天通常的生物力学步态模型不能预测在柔性结构上行走期间人类的响应，因为人类如何与振动结构相互作用的潜在机制仍然不清楚。此外，目前在工程设计中使用的模型不考虑人与结构之间的相互作用，这可能会导致不安全的结构或相反：过大的和非美学的结构，因此，有一个从科学领域（生物力学和土木工程）的迫切需要更好地了解人类行走在可兴奋和振动的结构的生物力学适应。该项目的目标是开发和验证改进的生物力学和结构载荷模型（基于人-结构相互作用的动力学），用于描述和模拟人类在振动结构上行走的人和结构行为。在这项研究中，我们将收集和分析人类参与者在振动结构上行走的实验数据和（用于比较）刚性结构。实验包括生物力学和结构响应的采集。基于实验研究的结果，将开发具有不同细节水平的增强生物力学模型用于在柔性结构上行走的仿真。随后，开发的步态模型将在结构分析中实施。将进行测量和模拟之间的广泛比较。这将允许制定步态和结构模型在细节水平方面的最低模型要求。最后，我们希望提出一个力学模型，预测行人引起的振动与考虑人与结构的相互作用和步态模型，准确模拟人体在振动结构上行走时的反应。该生物力学模型的功能将在一个柔软的主动式腿部矫形器上得到验证，该项目的成果将对辅助设备（例如假肢）领域的技术发展以及在结构设计中更好地预测结构反应具有重要意义。

Motivated by ever more stringent architectonic requirements, there is a current trend in civil engineering to design and build slenderer and lighter structures with greater span lengths. In case of structures subjected to human locomotion (e.g. pedestrian bridges) this leads often to excessive levels of pedestrian-induced structural vibrations. As a consequence, humans have to adapt their gait to the vibrations of the underlying structure in order to keep balance. In return, the changes in the gait affect the structural response, resulting in a continuous interaction between the human and the structure. However today’s usual biomechanical gait models cannot predict the response of the human during walking on a flexible structure since the underlying mechanisms of how humans interact with vibrating structures still remain unclear. Moreover the current models used in engineering design do not account for the interaction between the human and the structures, which can lead to unsafe structures or to the contrary: oversized and non-aesthetical structures.Thus, there is a critical need from both science areas (biomechanics and civil engineering) for a better understanding of the biomechanical adaptation of humans walking on excitable and vibrating structures. The goal of the project is to develop and validate improved biomechanical and structural load models (based on the dynamics of the human-structure interaction) for describing and simulating human walking on vibrating structures with respect to both the human and structural behavior.In this research we will collect and analyze the experimental data from human participants walking on vibrating structures and (for comparison) on stiff structures. The experiments include the acquisition of both biomechanical and structural responses. Based on the results of the experimental investigations, enhanced biomechanical models with different level of detail for walking on flexible structures will be developed for simulation. Subsequently the developed gait models will be implemented within the structural analysis. Extensive comparisons between the measurements and simulations will be performed. This will allow formulating minimum model requirements for both the gait and structural models with respect to the level of detail. Finally we expect to propose a mechanical model for prediction of pedestrian induced vibrations with consideration of the human-structure interaction and a gait model for accurate simulation of the human response during walking on vibrating structures. The functionality of the biomechanical model proposed will be demonstrated on a soft active leg orthosis.The outcome of the project will be of great importance for technical developments in the field of assistive devices (e.g. leg prosthesis) and for a better predictability of the structural responses in the design of structures.