Abstract
The mechanical properties of sheep skin under compressive stress were investigated by two methods; a stress-strain method and a cyclic stress fatigue method. It was shown that for small loads the skin exhibits a behaviour similar to a linear viscoelastic material while for large loads it behaves nonlinearly; the strain throughout being essentially a logarithmic function of load. The effect on the skin of treatment with several solutions and enzymes designed to have a selective effect on one of the components of the tissue was also investigated and characterized statistically.
By the cyclic stress fatigue method the dependency of the mechanical properties of sheep skin on the previous treatment was investigated, and it was shown that its fatigue behaviour is essentially a logarithmic function of time. Based on the experimental data, a mechanical model of its behaviour was proposed.
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