The tensile properties of single osteons

Abstract

The ultimate tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of individual osteons from human and ox compact bone were determined with a specially designed microwave extensimeter. The results were related to the degree of calcification and the orientation of collagen fiber‐bundles in successive lamellae of the osteons. The following conclusions were made: (1) When osteon specimens are dried, their tensile strength and modulus of elasticity increase, while their percent elongation under tension falls. (2) In the osteon samples tested wet, the degree of calcification induces an increase in the modulus of elasticity with additional amounts of calcium salts. (3) The modulus of elasticity in tension of the organic matrix corresponds to that of collagen. (4) In the osteons having a marked longitudinal arrangement of bundles of fibers in successive lamellae, the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of elasticity seem greater and the percentage elongation under tension seems lower than in osteons whose bundles in successive lamellae change through an angle of about 90°. (5) The tensile properties of osteons seem independent of the age of the subject. (6) Human and ox osteons reveal the same tensile behavior. (7) The tensile stress‐strain curves show that, even at the level of single osteons, bone behaves like a complex material, which, according to Sedlin, can be represented by a Hooke body linked in series to a Kelvin body.