A Novel Compression Tester for Detecting Anisotropy in Very Soft Biological Tissues

Author(s):  
Roy Wang ◽  
Rudolph L. Gleason

Quantifying the mechanical behavior of very soft tissues (VST) is important when studying responses to injury or designing therapeutic devices; fat, brain, or liver being examples of such tissues. VST can have poor suture retention or clamp holding strength, making tensile tests difficult. As a result, uniaxial compression tests are typically the preferred choice to quantify the mechanical behavior. In these tests, isotropy is generally assumed and measuring the deformation in only one direction is needed if the material is considered incompressible [13]. In this study we present a novel testing apparatus for use on VST under uniaxial compression that can detect anisotropic behavior of the tissue if present. We validate the tester using cardiac adipose tissue and isotropic rubber as the control. Understanding the directional behavior of the tissue is important since anisotropy would require testing in multiple directions to fully characterize the material properties.

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-209
Author(s):  
Vasile Cojocaru ◽  
Doina Frunzaverde ◽  
Dorian Nedelcu ◽  
Calin-Octavian Miclosina ◽  
Gabriela Marginean

Initially developed as a rapid prototyping tool for project visualization and validation, the recent development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies has led to the transition from rapid prototyping to rapid manufacturing. As a consequence, increased attention has to be paid to the mechanical, chemical and physical properties of the printed materials. In mechanical engineering, the widespread use of AM technologies requires the optimization of process parameters and material properties in order to obtain components with high, repeatable and time-stable mechanical properties. One of the main problems in this regard is the anisotropic behavior of components made by additive manufacturing, determined by the type of material, the 3D printing technology, the process parameters and the position of the components in the printing space. In this paper the influence of the printing orientation angle on the tensile behavior of specimens made by material jetting is investigated. The aim was to determine if the positioning of components at different angles relative to the X-axis of the printer (and implicitly in relation to the multijet printing head) contributes to anisotropic behavior. The material used was a photopolymer with a mechanical strength between 40 MPa and 55 MPa, according to the producer. Four sets of tensile test specimens were manufactured, using flat build orientation and positioned on the printing table at angles of 0˚, 30˚, 60˚ and 90˚ to the X-axis of the printer. Comparative analysis of the mechanical behavior was carried out by tensile tests and microscopic investigations of the tensile test specimens fracture surfaces.


Author(s):  
Mathieu Nierenberger ◽  
Yves Rémond ◽  
Saïd Ahzi

Medical surgery is currently rapidly improving and requires modeling faithfully the mechanical behavior of soft tissues. Various models exist in literature; some of them created for the study of biological materials, and others coming from the field of rubber mechanics. Indeed biological tissues show a mechanical behavior close to the one of rubbers. But while building a model, one has to keep in mind that its parameters should be loading independent and that the model should be able to predict the behavior under complex loading conditions. In addition, keeping physical parameters seems interesting since it allows a bottom up approach taking into account the microstructure of the material. In this study, the authors consider different existing hyperelastic models based on strain energy functions and identify their coefficients successively on single loading stress-stretch curves. The experimental data used, come from a paper by Zemanek dated 2009 and concerning uniaxial, equibiaxial and plane tension tests on porcine arterial walls taken in identical experimental conditions. To achieve identification, the strain energy function of each model is derived differently to provide an expression of the Cauchy stress associated to each loading case. Firstly the parameters of each model are identified on the uniaxial tension curve using a least squares method. Then, keeping the obtained parameters, predictions are made for the two other loading cases (equibiaxial and plane tension) using the associated expressions of stresses. A comparison of these predictions with experimental data is done and allows evaluating the predictive capabilities of each model for the different loading cases. A similar approach is used after swapping the loading types. Since the predictive capabilities of the models are really dependent on the loading chosen to determine their parameters, another type of identification procedure is set up. It consists in adding the residues over the three loading cases during identification. This alternative identification method allows a better agreement between each model and the various types of experiments. This study evaluated the ability of some classical hyperelastic models to be used for a predictive scope after being identified on a specific loading type. Besides it brought to light some existing models which can describe at best the mechanical behavior of biological tissues submitted to various loadings.


1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-103
Author(s):  
Han-Chin Wu ◽  
R. Reiss

The stress response of soft biological tissues is investigated theoretically. The treatment follows the approach of Wu and Yao [1] and is now extended for a broad class of soft tissues. The theory accounts for the anisotropy due to the presence of fibers and also allows for the stretching of fibers under load. As an application of the theory, a precise form for the strain energy function is proposed. This form is then shown to describe the mechanical behavior of annulus fibrosus satisfactorily. The constants in the strain energy function have also been approximately determined from only a uniaxial tension test.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosein Naseri ◽  
Håkan Johansson

In modeling the mechanical behavior of soft tissues, the proper choice of an experiment for identifying material parameters is not an easy task. In this study, a finite element computational framework is used to virtually simulate and assess commonly used experimental setups: rotational rheometer tests, confined- and unconfined-compression tests, and indentation tests. Variance-based global sensitivity analysis is employed to identify which parameters in different experimental setups govern model prediction and are thus more likely to be determined through parameter identification processes. Therefore, a priori assessment of experimental setups provides a base for systematic and reliable parameter identification. It is found that in indentation tests and unconfined-compression tests, incompressibility of soft tissues (adipose tissue in this study) plays an important role at high strain rates. That means bulk stiffness constitutes the main part of the mechanism of tissue response; thus, these experimental setups may not be appropriate for identifying shear stiffness. Also, identified material parameters through loading–unloading shear tests at a certain rate might not be reliable for other rates, since adipose tissue shows highly strain rate dependent behavior. Frequency sweep tests at a wide-enough frequency range seem to be the best setup to capture the strain rate behavior. Moreover, analyzing the sensitivity of model parameters in the different experimental setups provides further insight about the model itself.


Author(s):  
Donguk Choi ◽  
Sorrasak Vachirapanyakun ◽  
Munckhtuvshin Ochirbud ◽  
Undram Naidangjav ◽  
Sangsu Ha ◽  
...  

AbstractResults of an experimental study aimed to evaluate tensile performance, lap-splice length of carbon fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix system (C-FRCM), and performance of concretes confined by C-FRCM are presented. Green high-strength mortar was used in this study which actively utilized recycled fine aggregate and fine waste glass powder to partially substitute cementitious binder. Test plans were developed in due consideration of prefabricated C-FRCM for strengthening concrete columns: 14 tensile tests, 12 lap-splice tests, and 6 uniaxial compression tests of plain concrete specimens confined by C-FRCM were performed. Test variable for the tensile test was number of fabric layers (one or two layers). Nominal strength of the C-FRCM with two fabric layers was 11.0 MPa while it was 7.4 MPa with one fabric layer in tension. Full strength of the carbon fabric was developed in all tensile tests while the C-FRCM with two fabric layers (with axial fiber amount = 0.59% by vol.) showed pseudo-ductile behavior. From the lap-splice tests in direct tension, an increased lap-splice length was required for the double fabrics over that for the single fabrics. The required splice length was about 170 mm for the single fabrics and it was about 310 mm for the double fabrics. Plain concrete cylinders and prismatic specimens were laterally confined by C-FRCM and subjected to uniaxial compression. All test results showed strain-softening behavior. Compressive strength increased by 10–41% while ductility also increased by 6–45% indicating applicability of the prefabricated type C-FRCM in the future.


1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Demiray

Due to physiological structure of most of the soft biological tissues, measurable stresses develop after the specimen has been stretched to many hundreds of percent of its relaxed length. Therefore, the nonlinear stress-strain relations developed for vulcanized rubber cannot be applied to soft tissues, which are constitutionally much more nonlinear than other engineering materials. In this article, using two different elastic models proposed for elastic soft tissues, simple elongation of a cylindrical bar and the inflation of a spherical thick shell, which is deemed to be a model for a left venticle, are studied and the material coefficients characterizing the elastic model are obtained via comparing theoretical results with existing experiments on tissues. Furthermore, the elastic stiffnesses which are very important for physiologists and cardiologists are discussed and the consistency of the result with experiments are indicated.


Author(s):  
Arturo N. Natali ◽  
Emanuele L. Carniel ◽  
Piero G. Pavan ◽  
Alessio Gasparetto ◽  
Franz G. Sander ◽  
...  

Soft biological tissues show a strongly non linear and time-dependent mechanical response and undergo large strains under physiological loads. The microstructural arrangement determines specific anisotropic macroscopic properties that must be considered within a constitutive formulation. The characterization of the mechanical behaviour of soft tissues entails the definition of constitutive models capable of accounting for geometric and material non linearity. In the model presented here a hyperelastic anisotropic formulation is adopted as the basis for the development of constitutive models for soft tissues and can be properly arranged for the investigation of viscous and damage phenomena as well to interpret significant aspects pertaining to ordinary and degenerative conditions. Visco-hyperelastic models are used to analyze the time-dependent mechanical response, while elasto-damage models account for the stiffness and strength decrease that can develop under significant loading or degenerative conditions. Experimental testing points out that damage response is affected by the strain rate associated with loading, showing a decrease in the damage limits as the strain rate increases. This phenomena can be investigated by means of a model capable of accounting for damage phenomena in relation to viscous effects. The visco-hyperelastic damage model developed is defined on the basis of a Helmholtz free energy function depending on the strain-damage history. In particular, a specific damage criterion is formulated in order to evaluate the influence of the strain rate on damage. The model can be implemented in a general purpose finite element code. This makes it possible to perform numerical analyses of the mechanical response considering time-dependent effects and damage phenomena. The experimental tests develop investigated tissue response for different strain rate conditions, accounting for stretch situations capable of inducing damage phenomena. The reliability of the formulation is evaluated by a comparison with the results of experimental tests performed on pig periodontal ligament.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mallika Sridhar ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
Michael F. Insana

Viscoelastic properties of soft tissues and hydropolymers depend on the strength of molecular bonding forces connecting the polymer matrix and surrounding fluids. The basis for diagnostic imaging is that disease processes alter molecular-scale bonding in ways that vary the measurable stiffness and viscosity of the tissues. This paper reviews linear viscoelastic theory as applied to gelatin hydrogels for the purpose of formulating approaches to molecular-scale interpretation of elasticity imaging in soft biological tissues. Comparing measurements acquired under different geometries, we investigate the limitations of viscoelastic parameters acquired under various imaging conditions. Quasi-static (step-and-hold and low-frequency harmonic) stimuli applied to gels during creep and stress relaxation experiments in confined and unconfined geometries reveal continuous, bimodal distributions of respondance times. Within the linear range of responses, gelatin will behave more like a solid or fluid depending on the stimulus magnitude. Gelatin can be described statistically from a few parameters of low-order rheological models that form the basis of viscoelastic imaging. Unbiased estimates of imaging parameters are obtained only if creep data are acquired for greater than twice the highest retardance time constant and any steady-state viscous response has been eliminated. Elastic strain and retardance time images are found to provide the best combination of contrast and signal strength in gelatin. Retardance times indicate average behavior of fast (1–10s) fluid flows and slow (50–400s) matrix restructuring in response to the mechanical stimulus. Insofar as gelatin mimics other polymers, such as soft biological tissues, elasticity imaging can provide unique insights into complex structural and biochemical features of connectives tissues affected by disease.


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