MECHANICAL MODELING AND SIMULATION OF FOOT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION AT QUIET AND PROVOKED STANDING

Date

2026-2-27

Author

YALÇIN, ESRA GÖZDE

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Human posture is a complex structure in terms of biomechanics and balance processes, and the foot plays a fundamental role in maintaining stability. In addition to supporting body weight, the foot is essential for ensuring balance and directing movement. This thesis investigates the biomechanical responses of the foot during quiet and perturbed stance, with a particular focus on the activation of the windlass mechanism. As part of the study, position sensors were placed on the navicular, metatarsal, and calcaneus regions to measure foot motion dynamics, while additional sensors on the center of mass tracked overall postural changes. Furthermore, a force plate was utilized to record foot-ground interactions, and the collected data was processed for detailed analysis. The primary mechanical model was initially developed in SolidWorks and subsequently integrated into the MATLAB environment for further analysis and simulation. Based on the acquired data, a model representing the foot and related body regions was developed using MATLAB with Simulink and Simscape Multibody, allowing for the simulation of functional foot behavior during stance. Additionally, motion analysis was conducted using Msc ADAMS software to examine the dynamic structure of foot movements. Artificial intelligence–based clustering methods were employed to identify patterns and classify different foot responses observed during standing tasks. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the foot’s influence on posture and offers new methodologies for biomechanical analysis. The findings may contribute valuable insights to various fields, including foot health, balance training, and orthopedic rehabilitation.

Subject Keywords

Foot Biomechanics, Motor Control, Posture, Windlass Mechanism

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119040

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis