Finite Element Implementation of a Planar Soft Tissue Structural Constitutive Model for Heart Valve Simulations

Author(s):  
Rong Fan ◽  
Michael S. Sacks

Constitutive modeling is critical for numerical simulation and analysis of soft biological tissues. The highly nonlinear and anisotropic mechanical behaviors of soft tissues are typically due to the interaction of tissue microstructure. By incorporating information of fiber orientation and distribution at tissue microscopic scale, the structural model avoids ambiguities in material characterization. Moreover, structural models produce much more information than just simple stress-strain results, but can provide much insight into how soft tissues internally reorganize to external loads by adjusting their internal microstructure. It is only through simulation of an entire organ system can such information be derived and provide insight into physiological function. However, accurate implementation and rigorous validation of these models remains very limited. In the present study we implemented a structural constitutive model into a commercial finite element package for planar soft tissues. The structural model was applied to simulate strip biaxial test for native bovine pericardium, and a single pulmonary valve leaflet deformation. In addition to prediction of the mechanical response, we demonstrate how a structural model can provide deeper insights into fiber deformation fiber reorientation and fiber recruitment.

Author(s):  
Rong Fan ◽  
Michael S. Sacks

Constitutive modeling is of fundamental important for numerical simulation and analysis of soft biological tissues. The mechanical behaviors of soft tissues are usually highly nonlinear and anisotropic. The complex behavior is the results from the interaction of tissue microstructure. By incorporating information of fiber orientation and distribution at tissue microscopic scale, the structural model avoids ambiguities in material characterization. Moreover, structural models produce much more information than just simple stress-strain results, but can provide much insight into how soft tissues internally reorganize to external loads by adjusting their internal microstructure. Moreover, it is only through simulation of an entire organ system can such information be derived and provide insight into physiological function. However, accurate implementation and rigorous validation of these models remains very limited. In the present study we implemented a structural constitutive model into a commercial finite element package. The structural model was verified against experiential test data for native bovine pericardium and fetal membrane. In addition to prediction of the mechanical response, we demonstrate how a structural model can provide deeper insights into fiber reorientation and fiber recruitment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Fathi ◽  
Shahrokh Shahi ◽  
Soheil Mohammadi

Extensive research has been performed in the past decades to study the behavior of soft biological tissues in order to reduce the need for practical experiments. The applicability of these researches, particularly for skin, ligament, muscles and the heart, brings up its importance in various biological science and technology disciplines such as surgery and medicine. Softness and large deformation govern the behavior of soft materials and prohibit the use of small strains solutions in finite element method.In this work, the focus is set on a strain energy function which has the advantage of accurately representing the behavior of a variety of soft tissues with only a few parameters in a finite element approach. The numerical results are verified with a set of tensile experiments to demonstrate the performance of the proposed model. The parameters include the matrix and collagen bundles and their orientation. Different cases are analyzed and discussed for better prediction of different soft tissue responses.  


2020 ◽  
pp. 030936462096778
Author(s):  
JW Steer ◽  
PR Worsley ◽  
M Browne ◽  
Alex Dickinson

Background: Finite element modelling has long been proposed to support prosthetic socket design. However, there is minimal detail in the literature to inform practice in developing and interpreting these complex, highly nonlinear models. Objectives: To identify best practice recommendations for finite element modelling of lower limb prosthetics, considering key modelling approaches and inputs. Study design: Computational modelling. Methods: This study developed a parametric finite element model using magnetic resonance imaging data from a person with transtibial amputation. Comparative analyses were performed considering socket loading methods, socket–residuum interface parameters and soft tissue material models from the literature, to quantify their effect on the residuum’s biomechanical response to a range of parameterised socket designs. Results: These variables had a marked impact on the finite element model’s predictions for limb–socket interface pressure and soft tissue shear distribution. Conclusions: All modelling decisions should be justified biomechanically and clinically. In order to represent the prosthetic loading scenario in silico, researchers should (1) consider the effects of donning and interface friction to capture the generated soft tissue shear stresses, (2) use representative stiffness hyperelastic material models for soft tissues when using strain to predict injury and (3) interrogate models comparatively, against a clinically-used control.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padmanabhan Seshaiyer ◽  
Jay D. Humphrey

Quantification of the mechanical behavior of hyperelastic membranes in their service configuration, particularly biological tissues, is often challenging because of the complicated geometry, material heterogeneity, and nonlinear behavior under finite strains. Parameter estimation thus requires sophisticated techniques like the inverse finite element method. These techniques can also become difficult to apply, however, if the domain and boundary conditions are complex (e.g. a non-axisymmetric aneurysm). Quantification can alternatively be achieved by applying the inverse finite element method over sub-domains rather than the entire domain. The advantage of this technique, which is consistent with standard experimental practice, is that one can assume homogeneity of the material behavior as well as of the local stress and strain fields. In this paper, we develop a sub-domain inverse finite element method for characterizing the material properties of inflated hyperelastic membranes, including soft tissues. We illustrate the performance of this method for three different classes of materials: neo-Hookean, Mooney Rivlin, and Fung-exponential.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard A. Ateshian ◽  
Michael B. Albro ◽  
Steve Maas ◽  
Jeffrey A. Weiss

Biological soft tissues and cells may be subjected to mechanical as well as chemical (osmotic) loading under their natural physiological environment or various experimental conditions. The interaction of mechanical and chemical effects may be very significant under some of these conditions, yet the highly nonlinear nature of the set of governing equations describing these mechanisms poses a challenge for the modeling of such phenomena. This study formulated and implemented a finite element algorithm for analyzing mechanochemical events in neutral deformable porous media under finite deformation. The algorithm employed the framework of mixture theory to model the porous permeable solid matrix and interstitial fluid, where the fluid consists of a mixture of solvent and solute. A special emphasis was placed on solute-solid matrix interactions, such as solute exclusion from a fraction of the matrix pore space (solubility) and frictional momentum exchange that produces solute hindrance and pumping under certain dynamic loading conditions. The finite element formulation implemented full coupling of mechanical and chemical effects, providing a framework where material properties and response functions may depend on solid matrix strain as well as solute concentration. The implementation was validated using selected canonical problems for which analytical or alternative numerical solutions exist. This finite element code includes a number of unique features that enhance the modeling of mechanochemical phenomena in biological tissues. The code is available in the public domain, open source finite element program FEBio (http://mrl.sci.utah.edu/software).


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Vande Geest ◽  
B. R. Simon ◽  
Paul H. Rigby ◽  
Tyler P. Newberg

Finite element models (FEMs) including characteristic large deformations in highly nonlinear materials (hyperelasticity and coupled diffusive/convective transport of neutral mobile species) will allow quantitative study of in vivo tissues. Such FEMs will provide basic understanding of normal and pathological tissue responses and lead to optimization of local drug delivery strategies. We present a coupled porohyperelastic mass transport (PHEXPT) finite element approach developed using a commercially available ABAQUS finite element software. The PHEXPT transient simulations are based on sequential solution of the porohyperelastic (PHE) and mass transport (XPT) problems where an Eulerian PHE FEM is coupled to a Lagrangian XPT FEM using a custom-written FORTRAN program. The PHEXPT theoretical background is derived in the context of porous media transport theory and extended to ABAQUS finite element formulations. The essential assumptions needed in order to use ABAQUS are clearly identified in the derivation. Representative benchmark finite element simulations are provided along with analytical solutions (when appropriate). These simulations demonstrate the differences in transient and steady state responses including finite deformations, total stress, fluid pressure, relative fluid, and mobile species flux. A detailed description of important model considerations (e.g., material property functions and jump discontinuities at material interfaces) is also presented in the context of finite deformations. The ABAQUS-based PHEXPT approach enables the use of the available ABAQUS capabilities (interactive FEM mesh generation, finite element libraries, nonlinear material laws, pre- and postprocessing, etc.). PHEXPT FEMs can be used to simulate the transport of a relatively large neutral species (negligible osmotic fluid flux) in highly deformable hydrated soft tissues and tissue-engineered materials.


Author(s):  
Gerhard A. Holzapfel ◽  
Ray W. Ogden

This review article is concerned with the mathematical modelling of the mechanical properties of the soft biological tissues that constitute the walls of arteries. Many important aspects of the mechanical behaviour of arterial tissue can be treated on the basis of elasticity theory, and the focus of the article is therefore on the constitutive modelling of the anisotropic and highly nonlinear elastic properties of the artery wall. The discussion focuses primarily on developments over the last decade based on the theory of deformation invariants, in particular invariants that in part capture structural aspects of the tissue, specifically the orientation of collagen fibres, the dispersion in the orientation, and the associated anisotropy of the material properties. The main features of the relevant theory are summarized briefly and particular forms of the elastic strain-energy function are discussed and then applied to an artery considered as a thick-walled circular cylindrical tube in order to illustrate its extension–inflation behaviour. The wide range of applications of the constitutive modelling framework to artery walls in both health and disease and to the other fibrous soft tissues is discussed in detail. Since the main modelling effort in the literature has been on the passive response of arteries, this is also the concern of the major part of this article. A section is nevertheless devoted to reviewing the limited literature within the continuum mechanics framework on the active response of artery walls, i.e. the mechanical behaviour associated with the activation of smooth muscle, a very important but also very challenging topic that requires substantial further development. A final section provides a brief summary of the current state of arterial wall mechanical modelling and points to key areas that need further modelling effort in order to improve understanding of the biomechanics and mechanobiology of arteries and other soft tissues, from the molecular, to the cellular, tissue and organ levels.


Author(s):  
Victor Caraveo ◽  
Scott Lovald ◽  
Tariq Khraishi ◽  
Jon Wagner ◽  
Brett Baack

FE modeling of biological tissues and physiological behavior is now becoming common practice with the improvement in finite element analysis (FEA) software and the significant increase in capability of computing resources. There are many uses for FEA of this nature, one of which has been simulating the mechanical behavior of implant devices for fracture repair. FE analysis offers insight into the mechanistic behavior of fixation plates used in rigid internal fixation and, if modeled carefully, could eventually become an accurate design tool.


2006 ◽  
Vol 975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Elizabeth Olesiak ◽  
Michelle Oyen ◽  
Matthew Sponheimer ◽  
Jaelyn J. Eberle ◽  
Virginia L. Ferguson

ABSTRACTBone plays a key role in the paleontological and archeological records and can provide insight into the biology, ecology and the environment of ancient vertebrates. Examination of bone at the tissue level reveals a definitive relationship between nanomechanical properties and the local organic content, mineral content, and microstructural organization. However, it is unclear as to how these properties change following fossilization, or diagenesis, where the organic phase is rapidly removed and the remaining mineral phase is reinforced by the deposition of apatites, calcites, and other minerals. While the process of diagenesis is poorly understood, its outcome clearly results in the potential for dramatic alteration of the mechanical response of biological tissues. In this study, fossilized specimens of mammalian long bones, collected from Colorado and Wyoming, were studied for mechanical variations. Nanoindentation performed in both longitudinal and transverse directions revealed preservation of bone's natural anisotropy as transverse modulus values were consistently smaller than longitudinal values. Additionally modulus values of fossilized bone from 35.0 to 89.1 GPa increased linearly with logarithm of the sample's age. Future studies will aim to clarify what mechanical and material elements of bone are retained during diagenesis as bone becomes part of the geologic milieu.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (116) ◽  
pp. 20151081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ester Comellas ◽  
T. Christian Gasser ◽  
Facundo J. Bellomo ◽  
Sergio Oller

Remodelling of soft biological tissue is characterized by interacting biochemical and biomechanical events, which change the tissue's microstructure, and, consequently, its macroscopic mechanical properties. Remodelling is a well-defined stage of the healing process, and aims at recovering or repairing the injured extracellular matrix. Like other physiological processes, remodelling is thought to be driven by homeostasis, i.e. it tends to re-establish the properties of the uninjured tissue. However, homeostasis may never be reached, such that remodelling may also appear as a continuous pathological transformation of diseased tissues during aneurysm expansion, for example. A simple constitutive model for soft biological tissues that regards remodelling as homeostatic-driven turnover is developed. Specifically, the recoverable effective tissue damage, whose rate is the sum of a mechanical damage rate and a healing rate, serves as a scalar internal thermodynamic variable. In order to integrate the biochemical and biomechanical aspects of remodelling, the healing rate is, on the one hand, driven by mechanical stimuli, but, on the other hand, subjected to simple metabolic constraints. The proposed model is formulated in accordance with continuum damage mechanics within an open-system thermodynamics framework. The numerical implementation in an in-house finite-element code is described, particularized for Ogden hyperelasticity. Numerical examples illustrate the basic constitutive characteristics of the model and demonstrate its potential in representing aspects of remodelling of soft tissues. Simulation results are verified for their plausibility, but also validated against reported experimental data.


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