A chondrocyte and its surrounding pericellular matrix (PCM) are defined as a chondron. Single chondrocytes and chondrons isolated from bovine articular cartilage were compressed by micromanipulation between two parallel surfaces in order to investigate their biomechanical properties and to discover the mechanical significance of the PCM. The force imposed on the cells was measured directly during compression to various deformations and then holding. When the nominal strain at the end of compression was 50 per cent, force relaxation showed that the cells were viscoelastic, but this viscoelasticity was generally insignificant when the nominal strain was 30 per cent or lower. The viscoelastic behaviour might be due to the mechanical response of the cell cytoskeleton and/or nucleus at higher deformations. A finite-element analysis was applied to simulate the experimental force-displacement/time data and to obtain mechanical property parameters of the chondrocytes and chondrons. Because of the large strains in the cells, a nonlinear elastic model was used for simulations of compression to 30 per cent nominal strain and a nonlinear viscoelastic model for 50 per cent. The elastic model yielded a Young's modulus of 14 ± 1 kPa (mean ± s.e.) for chondrocytes and 19 ± 2 kPa for chondrons, respectively. The viscoelastic model generated an instantaneous elastic modulus of 21 ± 3 and 27 ± 4 kPa, a long-term modulus of 9.3 ± 0.8 and 12 ± 1 kPa and an apparent viscosity of 2.8 ± 0.5 and 3.4 ± 0.6 kPa s for chondrocytes and chondrons, respectively. It was concluded that chondrons were generally stiffer and showed less viscoelastic behaviour than chondrocytes, and that the PCM significantly influenced the mechanical properties of the cells.
Incremental sheet forming represents a promising process in the manufacturing of metallic components, particularly its variant known as single point incremental forming (SPIF). The purpose of this paper is to test and validate the results coming from numerical simulation of SPIF processes using t...
The purpose of this study was to quantify the biomechanical response of the human thorax during dynamic shoulder belt loading representative of that seen in a severe automotive collision. Two post-mortem human surrogates (PMHSs) (one male and one female) were instrumented with 26 single-axis stra...
The aim of this study is to investigate the biomechanical stress and strain behaviour within the wall of the artery and its influence on plaque formation and rupture using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A three-dimensional finite-element model of the carotid bifurcation was generated to ana...
Spiral family implants are a root-form fixtures with increasing thickness of tread. This characteristic gives a self-tapping and self-condensing bone properties to implants. To study spiral family implant inserted in different bone quality and connected with abutments of different angulations a F...
The incomplete efficacy of current surgical repair procedures of the tricuspid valve (TV) demands a deeper comprehension of the physiological TV biomechanics. To this purpose, computational models can provide quantitative insight into TV biomechanical response and allow analysing the role of each...
Tibial tray malalignment has been associated with increased subsidence and failure. We constructed a finite element model of knee arthroplasty to determine the biomechanical factors involved in increasing the risk of subsidence with malalignment. Four fresh-frozen human knees were implanted with ...
Rodents are defined by a uniquely specialized dentition and a highly complex arrangement of jaw-closing muscles. Finite element analysis (FEA) is an ideal technique to investigate the biomechanical implications of these specializations, but it is essential to understand fully the degree of influe...
Biomechanical data and related constitutive modelling of the mitral apparatus served as a basis for finite element analyses to better understand the physiology of mitral valves in health and disease. Human anterior and posterior leaflets and chordae tendinae from an elderly heart showing no disea...
In order to reduce the complications of bone cement, many efforts are underway to replace bone cement augmentation with cancellous bone granule augmentation for treating compression fractures of osteoporotic vertebral bodies. The goal of this study was to investigate the biomechanical effects of ...
Mandibular condylar fractures have a high incidence but there is no consensus regarding the best choice of osteosynthesis. From a review of the literature, it is evident that the technique used most frequently for fixation is the positioning of a single plate despite complications concerning plat...
