Viscoelastic shear lag model to predict the micromechanical behavior of tendon under dynamic tensile loading

JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY

卷:437

Article

Wu, Jiayu^1,2  Yuan, Hong¹  Li, Longyuan²  Fan, Kunjie²  Qian, Shanguang³  Li, Bing⁴ 

[1] Jinan Univ, Inst Appl Mech, MOE Key Lab Disaster Forecast & Control Engn, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, Peoples R China

[2] Univ Plymouth, Sch Engn, Plymouth PL4 8AA, Devon, England

[3] Kunming Met Coll, Architecture Engn Fac, Kunming 650033, Yunnan, Peoples R China

[4] Imperial Coll London, Blackett Lab, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, England

关键词: Tendon;    Biocomposites;    Shear lag model;    Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model;    Mechanical response;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.10.018

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Owing to its viscoelastic nature, tendon exhibits stress rate-dependent breaking and stiffness function. A Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic shear lag model is proposed to illustrate the micromechanical behavior of the tendon under dynamic tensile conditions. Theoretical closed-form expressions are derived to predict the deformation and stress transfer between fibrils and interfibrillar matrix while tendon is dynamically stretched. The results from the analytical solutions demonstrate that how the fibril overlap length and fibril volume fraction affect the stress transfer and mechanical properties of tendon. We find that the viscoelastic property of interfibrillar matrix mainly results in collagen fibril failure under fast loading rate or creep rupture of tendon. However, discontinuous fibril model and hierarchical structure of tendon ensure relative sliding under slow loading rate, helping dissipate energy and protecting fibril from damage, which may be a key reason why regularly staggering alignment microstructure is widely selected in nature. According to the growth, injury, healing and healed process of tendon observed by many researchers, the conclusions presented in this paper agrees well with the experimental findings. Additionally, the emphasis of this paper is on micromechanical behavior of tendon, whereas this analytical viscoelastic shear lag model can be equally applicable to other soft or hard tissues, owning the similar microstructure. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free