Date Available
7-27-2017
Year of Publication
2017
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)
College
Engineering
Department/School/Program
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor
Dr. Suzanne Weaver Smith
Abstract
Rotational falls, or somersault falls, have led to serious and fatal injuries during the cross-country phase of Eventing competitions. Research to improve the safety of the sport began in 2000 after five fatal injuries occurred in the 1999 Eventing season. These efforts led to safety devices such as air jackets, improved helmets, and frangible/deformable fences. The focus of this thesis is to develop a more complete understanding of the horse-fence interaction as the approach motion transitions to a rotational fall. To achieve this, a large distribution of inertial properties was compiled through the development of a cylinder-based inertia approximation and a citizen science effort to gather equine geometrical measurements through a survey distributed by the United States Eventing Association (USEA). Furthermore, fundamental kinematic properties of the horse and rider were gathered from the literature. These distributions were used to conduct a Monte Carlo analysis to examine if the approach conditions of the horse and rider would result in a transition to a rotational fall upon horse-fence contact. Through the analysis the sensitivity of the main control parameters was explored to determine the dominant variables in the transition.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.386
Recommended Citation
Vega, Gregorio Robles, "SIMULATION OF HORSE-FENCE CONTACT AND INTERACTION AFFECTING ROTATIONAL FALLS IN THE SPORT OF EVENTING" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering. 98.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/me_etds/98
Included in
Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls Commons, Applied Mechanics Commons, Electro-Mechanical Systems Commons
