Compressive Mechanical Properties of Porcine Brain: Experimentation and Modeling of the Tissue Hydration Effects

Bioengineering

Mark T. Begonia¹  Yuxiong Mao¹  Wilburn R. Whittington¹  Raj K. Prabhu¹  Michael A. Murphy¹  Jun Liao²  Lakiesha N. Williams³  Mark F. Horstemeyer⁴  Jianping Sheng⁵ 

[1] Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39795, USA;Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA;J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;School of Engineering, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 24515, USA;U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC), Warren, MI 48397, USA;

关键词: porcine brain, mechanical behavior, hydration effects, Split-Hopkinson pressure bar, micromechanics, finite element analysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/bioengineering6020040

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Designing protective systems for the human head—and, hence, the brain—requires understanding the brain’s microstructural response to mechanical insults. We present the behavior of wet and dry porcine brain undergoing quasi-static and high strain rate mechanical deformations to unravel the effect of hydration on the brain’s biomechanics. Here, native ‘wet’ brain samples contained ~80% (mass/mass) water content and ‘dry’ brain samples contained ~0% (mass/mass) water content. First, the wet brain incurred a large initial peak stress that was not exhibited by the dry brain. Second, stress levels for the dry brain were greater than the wet brain. Third, the dry brain stress−strain behavior was characteristic of ductile materials with a yield point and work hardening; however, the wet brain showed a typical concave inflection that is often manifested by polymers. Finally, finite element analysis (FEA) of the brain’s high strain rate response for samples with various proportions of water and dry brain showed that water played a major role in the initial hardening trend. Therefore, hydration level plays a key role in brain tissue micromechanics, and the incorporation of this hydration effect on the brain’s mechanical response in simulated injury scenarios or virtual human-centric protective headgear design is essential.

【 授权许可】

Unknown