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Cited by 156Bone health and osteoporosis researchHigh-Velocity Impact and Material BehaviorBone fractures and treatments

Microcracking damage and the fracture process in relation to strain rate in human cortical bone tensile failure

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Zioupos, Peter, Hansen, Ulrich, Currey, John D.·2008·Journal of Biomechanics
DOI 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.07.025
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Abstract

It is difficult to define the 'physiological' mechanical properties of bone. Traumatic failures in-vivo are more likely to be orders of magnitude faster than the quasistatic tests usually employed in-vitro. We have reported recently [Hansen, U., Zioupos, P., Simpson, R., Currey, J.D., Hynd, D., 2008. The effect of strain rate on the mechanical properties of human cortical bone. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering/Transactions of the ASME 130, 011011-1-8] results from tests on specimens of human femoral cortical bone loaded in tension at strain rates (epsilon ) ranging from low (0.08s(-1)) to high (18s(-1)). Across this strain rate range the modulus of elasticity generally increased, stress at yield and failure and strain at failure decreased for rates higher than 1s(-1), while strain at yield was invariant for most strain rates and only decreased at rates higher than 10s(-1). The results showed that strain rate has a stronger effect on post-yield deformation than on initiation of macroscopic yielding. In general, specimens loaded at high strain rates were brittle, while those loaded at low strain rates were much tougher. Here, a post-test examination of the microcracking damage reveals that microcracking was inversely related to the strain rate. Specimens loaded at low strain rates showed considerable post-yield strain and also much more microcracking. Partial correlation and regression analysis suggested that the development of post-yield strain was a function of the amount of microcracking incurred (the cause), rather than being a direct result of the strain rate (the excitation). Presumably low strain rates allow time for microcracking to develop, which increases the compliance of the specimen, making them tougher. This behaviour confirms a more general rule that the degree to which bone is brittle or tough depends on the amount of microcracking damage it is able to sustain. More importantly, the key to bone toughness is its ability to avoid a ductile-to-brittle transition for as long as possible during the deformation. The key to bone's brittleness, on the other hand, is the strain and damage localisation early on in the process, which leads to low post-yield strains and low-energy absorption to failure.

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  • Cortical bone is more brittle at high strain rates, and loading rate affects the accumulation of damage within bone tissue.

    “Cortical bone is more brittle at high strain rates, and loading rate also has an effect on the accumulation of damage within bone tissue (2).”

    From Bone Mechanical Properties in Healthy and Diseased States (2018) · cites this paper as [2]

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Authors
Zioupos, P., Hansen, U., & Currey, J. D.
Affiliations
  • Cranfield University (GB)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • University of York (GB)
Corresponding author
Zioupos, Peter
ORCID
Zioupos, Peter
Venue
Journal of Biomechanics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-10
Volume
41
Issue
14
Pages
2932-2939
ISSN
0021-9290 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.07.025
OpenAlex
W2054199016
Cited by
156
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 11
FWCI
9.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Biomechanics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Cranfield University
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Bone health and osteoporosis research
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › High-Velocity Impact and Material Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Bone fractures and treatments
Keywords
cortical bone, strain rate sensitivity, microcracking, fracture process, tensile failure, bone toughness, ductile-to-brittle transition, energy absorption, femoral bone, damage localization, bone mechanical properties
MeSH terms
Computer Simulation, Femur, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Biological, Stress, Mechanical, Tensile Strength, Elastic Modulus, In Vitro Techniques

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