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Elastic strain energy storage in the feet of running monkeys
Author(s) -
BENNETT M. B.,
KER R. F.,
ALEXANDER R. McN.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb02502.x
Subject(s) - elastic energy , elastic recoil , strain (injury) , strain energy , bending , energy (signal processing) , biology , mechanism (biology) , arch , foot (prosody) , biomechanics , structural engineering , mechanical energy , materials science , anatomy , composite material , physics , engineering , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , quantum mechanics , lung , finite element method , power (physics)
Monkeys are ‘flat–footed’ in comparison to humans, but they are still able to utilize elastic strain energy stores in their feet to reduce the metabolic energy cost of running. During contact with the ground, bending moments act on the foot to produce a ‘reversed arch’, storing strain energy which is returned in the subsequent elastic recoil. This energy–saving mechanism has been investigated in dynamic bending tests and is discussed in relation to the arched foot of humans.