Geometric and Mechanical Properties of Human Cervical Spine Ligaments

2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 623-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayan Yoganandan ◽  
Srirangam Kumaresan ◽  
Frank A. Pintar

This study characterized the geometry and mechanical properties of the cervical ligaments from C2–T1 levels. The lengths and cross-sectional areas of the anterior longitudinal ligament, posterior longitudinal ligament, joint capsules, ligamentum flavum, and interspinous ligament were determined from eight human cadavers using cryomicrotomy images. The geometry was defined based on spinal anatomy and its potential use in complex mathematical models. The biomechanical force-deflection, stiffness, energy, stress, and strain data were obtained from 25 cadavers using in situ axial tensile tests. Data were grouped into middle (C2–C5) and lower (C5–T1) cervical levels. Both the geometric length and area of cross section, and the biomechanical properties including the stiffness, stress, strain, energy, and Young’s modulus, were presented for each of the five ligaments. In both groups, joint capsules and ligamentum flavum exhibited the highest cross-sectional area p<0.005, while the longitudinal ligaments had the highest length measurements. Although not reaching statistical significance, for all ligaments, cross-sectional areas were higher in the C5–T1 than in the C2–C5 group; and lengths were higher in the C2–C5 than in the C5–T1 group with the exception of the flavum (Table 1 in the main text). Force-deflection characteristics (plots) are provided for all ligaments in both groups. Failure strains were higher for the ligaments of the posterior (interspinous ligament, joint capsules, and ligamentum flavum) than the anterior complex (anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments) in both groups. In contrast, the failure stress and Young’s modulus were higher for the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments compared to the ligaments of the posterior complex in the two groups. However, similar tendencies in the structural responses (stiffness, energy) were not found in both groups. Researchers attempting to incorporate these data into stress-analysis models can choose the specific parameter(s) based on the complexity of the model used to study the biomechanical behavior of the human cervical spine. [S0148-0731(00)01006-2]

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayan Yoganandan ◽  
Srirangam Kumaresan ◽  
Frank A. Pintar

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to determine the geometrical and biomechanical properties of human cervical spine ligaments from the axis to the first thoracic level. A total of 33 human cadavers were used. Geometrical data included the length and cross-sectional area measurements. Biomechanical properties included force, deflection, stiffness, energy, stress, strain, and Young’s modulus of elasticity. These data were obtained for the anterior longitudinal ligament, posterior longitudinal ligament, joint capsules, ligamentum flavum, and interspinous ligament. Geometrical characteristics were determined using cryomicrotomy techniques and biomechanical properties were obtained using in situ failure tensile testing. Force-deformation responses of each ligament type and at each spinal level were normalized. The joint capsules and ligamentum flavum exhibited the highest area of cross-section (p &lt; 0.005). The longitudinal ligaments responded with the highest length measurements. The strain parameters were higher for the ligaments of the posterior complex, i.e., interspinous ligament, joint capsules, and ligamentum flavum, than for the ligaments of the anterior complex, i.e., the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments. In contrast, the failure stress and Young’s modulus of elasticity were higher for the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments compared to the ligaments of the posterior complex. These findings delineate the relative contribution of the anterior and posterior ligaments in the human cervical spine.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Cao ◽  
Wenke Chen ◽  
Zhiyuan Rui ◽  
Changfeng Yan

Abstract Metal nanomaterials exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with corresponding bulk materials and have potential applications in various areas. Despite a number of studies of the size effect on Cu nanowires mechanical properties with square cross-sectional, investigations of them in rectangular cross-sectional with various sizes at constant volume are rare, and lack of multifactor coupling effect on mechanical properties and quantitative investigation. In this work, the dependence of mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of Cu nanowires/nanoplates under tension on cross-sessional area, aspect ratio of cross-sectional coupled with orientation were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and the semi-empirical expressions related to mechanical properties were proposed. The simulation results show that the Young’s modulus and the yield stress sharply increase with the aspect ratio except for the <110>{110}{001} Cu nanowires/nanoplates at the same cross-sectional area. And the Young’s modulus increases while the yield stress decreases with the cross-sectional area of Cu nanowires. However, both of them increase with the cross-sectional area of Cu nanoplates. Besides, the Young’s modulus increases with the cross-sectional area at all the orientations. The yield stress shows a mildly downward trend except for the <111> Cu nanowires with increased cross-sectional area. For the Cu nanowires with a small cross-sectional area, the surface force increases with the aspect ratio. In contrast, it decreases with the aspect ratio increase at a large cross-sectional area. At the cross-sectional area of 13.068 nm2, the surface force decreases with the aspect ratio of the <110> Cu nanowires while it increases at other orientations. The surface force is a linearly decreasing function of the cross-sectional area at different orientations. Quantitative studies show that Young’s modulus and yield stress to the aspect ratio of the Cu nanowires satisfy exponent relationship. In addition, the main deformation mechanism of Cu nanowires is the nucleation and propagation of partial dislocations while it is the twinning-dominated reorientation for Cu nanoplates.


Author(s):  
Jiangyue Zhang ◽  
Narayan Yoganandan ◽  
Frank A. Pintar

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of changes in the Young’s modulus of elasticity of the cancellous bone that occur due to the ageing process on the biomechanical behavior of the cervical spine. An anatomically accurate three-dimensional (3-D) nonlinear finite element model of the C4-C5-C6 cervical spinal unit was used. The inferior surface of the C6 vertebrae was fixed in all degrees of freedom, and external loads were applied to the top surface of the C4 vertebra. The model was exercised under an axial compressive force of 754 N. In addition, flexion and extension bending moments of 3.44 Nm were applied individually to the model. The effects of ageing on bone strength were simulated by decreasing the Young’s modulus of elasticity from 100 MPa in the healthy spine to 40 MPa in the degenerated spine. The degenerated spine was found to be more flexible than the healthy spine. In addition, the degenerated spine responded with increased forces in the outer anterior and posterior regions of the vertebral body. Furthermore, forces in the facet joints increased in the degenerated spine. In contrast, the middle region of the disc showed decreased forces. These increases in the forces leading to stress risers may explain the occurrence of osteophytes in the spine with age.


2020 ◽  
Vol 321 ◽  
pp. 05004
Author(s):  
Masato Ueda ◽  
Masahiko Ikeda

Mechanical properties of metallic materials can be controlled by not only alloy design but also constructing appropriate structure. A porous material with adequate pore structure showing appropriate mechanical properties has long been sought as the ideal bone substitute, because it exhibits low Young’s modulus and bone ingrowth. Additive manufacturing (AM) can produce metallic tailor-made products such as artificial bone, several joints etc. The purpose of this work was to control the mechanical property of porous Ti by controlling the porous structure. In addition, the characteristics of Ti-Zr-Fe alloys were also investigated as the materials for the AM. First, porous polylactic acid with rhombicuboctahedron-derived structure was prepared by a 3D printer to determine appropriated structure for bone substitutes. The compressive strength and Young’s modulus was strongly influenced by the minimum cross-sectional area fraction perpendicular to the loading direction. Then the porous Ti with similar structures were prepared by a laser AM. The strength and Young’s modulus were extremely low compared with the expected ones. Then Ti-xmass%Zr-1mass%Fe alloys (x=0, 5, 10) were prepared as the materials for the AM. Vickers hardness increased almost linearly with Zr content by solution hardening. Ideal bone substitutes would be produced by such structural design and alloying.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 278-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liga Jasulaneca ◽  
Raimonds Meija ◽  
Alexander I Livshits ◽  
Juris Prikulis ◽  
Subhajit Biswas ◽  
...  

In this study we address the mechanical properties of Sb2S3 nanowires and determine their Young’s modulus using in situ electric-field-induced mechanical resonance and static bending tests on individual Sb2S3 nanowires with cross-sectional areas ranging from 1.1·104 nm2 to 7.8·104 nm2. Mutually orthogonal resonances are observed and their origin explained by asymmetric cross section of nanowires. The results obtained from the two methods are consistent and show that nanowires exhibit Young’s moduli comparable to the value for macroscopic material. An increasing trend of measured values of Young’s modulus is observed for smaller thickness samples.


2012 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
René B. Svensson ◽  
Philip Hansen ◽  
Tue Hassenkam ◽  
Bjarki T. Haraldsson ◽  
Per Aagaard ◽  
...  

Tendons are strong hierarchical structures, but how tensile forces are transmitted between different levels remains incompletely understood. Collagen fibrils are thought to be primary determinants of whole tendon properties, and therefore we hypothesized that the whole human patellar tendon and its distinct collagen fibrils would display similar mechanical properties. Human patellar tendons ( n = 5) were mechanically tested in vivo by ultrasonography. Biopsies were obtained from each tendon, and individual collagen fibrils were dissected and tested mechanically by atomic force microscopy. The Young's modulus was 2.0 ± 0.5 GPa, and the toe region reached 3.3 ± 1.9% strain in whole patellar tendons. Based on dry cross-sectional area, the Young's modulus of isolated collagen fibrils was 2.8 ± 0.3 GPa, and the toe region reached 0.86 ± 0.08% strain. The measured fibril modulus was insufficient to account for the modulus of the tendon in vivo when fibril content in the tendon was accounted for. Thus, our original hypothesis was not supported, although the in vitro fibril modulus corresponded well with reported in vitro tendon values. This correspondence together with the fibril modulus not being greater than that of tendon supports that fibrillar rather than interfibrillar properties govern the subfailure tendon response, making the fibrillar level a meaningful target of intervention. The lower modulus found in vitro suggests a possible adverse effect of removing the tissue from its natural environment. In addition to the primary work comparing the two hierarchical levels, we also verified the existence of viscoelastic behavior in isolated human collagen fibrils.


2019 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Čech ◽  
Petr Haušild ◽  
Miroslav Karlík ◽  
Veronika Kadlecová ◽  
Jiří Čapek ◽  
...  

FeAl20Si20 (wt.%) powders prepared by mechanical alloying from different initial feedstock materials (Fe, Al, Si, FeAl27) were investigated in this study. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation techniques were used to analyze microstructure, phase composition and mechanical properties (hardness and Young’s modulus). Finite element model was developed to account for the decrease in measured values of mechanical properties of powder particles with increasing penetration depth caused by surrounding soft resin used for embedding powder particles. Progressive homogenization of the powders’ microstructure and an increase of hardness and Young’s modulus with milling time were observed and the time for complete homogenization was estimated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Salloom ◽  
S. A. Mantri ◽  
R. Banerjee ◽  
S. G. Srinivasan

AbstractFor decades the poor mechanical properties of Ti alloys were attributed to the intrinsic brittleness of the hexagonal ω-phase that has fewer than 5-independent slip systems. We contradict this conventional wisdom by coupling first-principles and cluster expansion calculations with experiments. We show that the elastic properties of the ω-phase can be systematically varied as a function of its composition to enhance both the ductility and strength of the Ti-alloy. Studies with five prototypical β-stabilizer solutes (Nb, Ta, V, Mo, and W) show that increasing β-stabilizer concentration destabilizes the ω-phase, in agreement with experiments. The Young’s modulus of ω-phase also decreased at larger concentration of β-stabilizers. Within the region of ω-phase stability, addition of Nb, Ta, and V (Group-V elements) decreased Young’s modulus more steeply compared to Mo and W (Group-VI elements) additions. The higher values of Young’s modulus of Ti–W and Ti–Mo binaries is related to the stronger stabilization of ω-phase due to the higher number of valence electrons. Density of states (DOS) calculations also revealed a stronger covalent bonding in the ω-phase compared to a metallic bonding in β-phase, and indicate that alloying is a promising route to enhance the ω-phase’s ductility. Overall, the mechanical properties of ω-phase predicted by our calculations agree well with the available experiments. Importantly, our study reveals that ω precipitates are not intrinsically embrittling and detrimental, and that we can create Ti-alloys with both good ductility and strength by tailoring ω precipitates' composition instead of completely eliminating them.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3467
Author(s):  
Anna Nocivin ◽  
Doina Raducanu ◽  
Bogdan Vasile ◽  
Corneliu Trisca-Rusu ◽  
Elisabeta Mirela Cojocaru ◽  
...  

The present paper analyzed the microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties of a Ti–Nb–Zr–Fe–O alloy of β-Ti type obtained by combining severe plastic deformation (SPD), for which the total reduction was of etot = 90%, with two variants of super-transus solution treatment (ST). The objective was to obtain a low Young’s modulus with sufficient high strength in purpose to use the alloy as a biomaterial for orthopedic implants. The microstructure analysis was conducted through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations. The analyzed mechanical properties reveal promising values for yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of about 770 and 1100 MPa, respectively, with a low value of Young’s modulus of about 48–49 GPa. The conclusion is that satisfactory mechanical properties for this type of alloy can be obtained if considering a proper combination of SPD + ST parameters and a suitable content of β-stabilizing alloying elements, especially the Zr/Nb ratio.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 461
Author(s):  
Konrad Kosiba ◽  
Konda Gokuldoss Prashanth ◽  
Sergio Scudino

The phase and microstructure formation as well as mechanical properties of the rapidly solidified Mg67Ag33 (at. %) alloy were investigated. Owing to kinetic constraints effective during rapid cooling, the formation of equilibrium phases is suppressed. Instead, the microstructure is mainly composed of oversaturated hexagonal closest packed Mg-based dendrites surrounded by a mixture of phases, as probed by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. A possible non-equilibrium phase diagram is suggested. Mainly because of the fine-grained dendritic and interdendritic microstructure, the material shows appreciable mechanical properties, such as a compressive yield strength and Young’s modulus of 245 ± 5 MPa and 63 ± 2 GPa, respectively. Due to this low Young’s modulus, the Mg67Ag33 alloy has potential for usage as biomaterial and challenges ahead, such as biomechanical compatibility, biodegradability and antibacterial properties are outlined.


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