Modelling of fascia lata rupture during tensile tests via the discrete element method
Résumé
Musculoskeletal models are often used to better understand the behaviour of the many components of the body, to predict injuries and design safety devices. These models become increasingly more detailed by including connective tissues. However, their implementation is often challenging due to the small amount of data regarding their mechanical properties. Fascia lata is a connective tissue wrapped around the muscles of the thigh. Histological studies on goat fascia lata (Pancheri et al. 2014) have shown its heterogeneous structure composed of two layers of collagen fibres connected by a proteoglycan matrix. Both layers have a specific fibre orientation, and are not orthogonal. The discrete element method (DEM) makes it possible to model complex structures by discretizing them into simple elements, associated to a mass, and cohesive bonds, such as springs. This allows for a better understanding of the relationship between micro and macroscale properties of materials. While this method is usually used to model composite materials, it has been adapted to model biological materials, such as the muscle-tendon complex (Roux et al. 2016). The aim of this study is thus to reproduce numerically the macroscopic behaviour of the fascia lata submitted to a tensile test using DEM.
Domaines
Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]
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