Abstract
A model is developed to assess the fatigue damage of cadaveric human cortical bone as a fiber-reinforced composite by incorporating stiffness degradation of bone materials as the number of loading cycles progresses. This study characterizes the cortical bone structure as a natural fiber-reinforced composite material consisting of Haversian osteons (fibers) embedded in interstitial bone (matrix) and separated by weak cement-line interfaces. The proposed damage model included such mechanical and histological parameters as osteon volume fraction, donor age, cyclic stress magnitude, secant modulus of osteons, and cement line interfacial strength. Predicted fatigue damage results were found in good agreement with several experimentally obtained damage results of cortical bone samples tested by different laboratories.
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