Fatigue resistant prosthetic feet realised by high strain composites

Purpose and goal:

The goal of FATRESFEET was to "develop a composite material with better strength, stiffness and fatigue properties than what is available on the market today". The material is now being launched at the world´s largest composites fair in Paris (JEC) under the name TEXTREME 360. The material exhibits improved fatigue properties as well as higher strength and stiffness compared to more traditional composite laminates.

In future components manufactured with TEXTREME 360, higher permissible strain levels will mean less material consumption and lighter structures. Expected results and effects:

The result of the project is above all that a production process for the new material has been established. As a result, the material can be launched commercially during 2024. Through testing, the material has been shown to have improved fatigue properties compared to other, similar composite materials.

In addition, collaboration between academia and business has been initiated, that continue even after the project has ended. The higher utilization level of the composite strengthens the competitiveness of the Swedish companies even when manufacturing other composite products. Approach and implementation:

The implementation was based on using the respective organization´s strengths, together with academic support where needed. The manufacturing problems, which were discovered in the feasibility study, were remedied, e.g. by engaging one of Sweden´s leading experts in contract manufacturing of composite products. At the same time, Chalmers and KTH were used to carry out complex and resource-intensive testing and mathematical modeling of the new material´s properties.

Through collaboration between academia and industry, the new material could be commercialized in a short time.