Projeto de estrutura para flutuação de pessoas com paralisia cerebral em atividades aquáticas

Abstract

Practicing physical and sporting activities is extremely important for a good quality of life for any person, and this is no different for people who have some type of disability, whether physical or of any other nature. Based on this, this work proposes the development of a floating structure to aid swimming activities for people with cerebral palsy (CP). In the initial stage, consultations were held with professionals working in the area with the aim of identifying the challenges experienced when leading students with CP in aquatic activities. Academic works and commercial products were researched in specialized sources. From this, ideas and constructive concepts were extracted and used as a basis for developing the proposed project. Three conceptual proposals for the product were developed, along with a list of requirements organized into two main groups: functional aspects and manufacturing aspects. The selection of the material used criteria such as market availability, cost, weight and ease of assembly, resulting in the choice of rigid PVC in the form of water pipes. The mechanical properties of PVC pipe samples were evaluated through tensile and flexion tests, under aging action for a period of up to 2 months. Analytical calculations were carried out to dimension the structure's components, considering the weight and buoyancy forces that act on the assembly. Finally, the work was completed with the construction of the prototype and evaluation of its functionality in a swimming pool. The floating structure adequately met the functional requirements. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]