On modelling damage process in vaginal tissue

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2009

Authors

B Calvo (Author) Other; E Peña (Author) Other; P Martins (Author) FEUP; T Mascarenhas (Author) FMUP; M Doblaré (Author) Other; RM Natal Jorge (Author) FEUP; AJM Ferreira (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Journal of Biomechanics

Vol. 42 No. 15

Pages: 642-651

ISSN: 0021-9290

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 68 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 68 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Other engineering and technologies

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Mechanical engineering ; Technological sciences > Engineering > Biomedical enginnering

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-MER

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.12.002

Abstract (EN): The goal of this study was to characterize and model the damage process in prolapsed vaginal tissue undergoing finite deformations. Experiments in prolapsed vaginal tissue revealed that a softening process occurs before tissue's rupture. This nonlinear damage behavior requires a continuum damage theory commonly used to describe the softening behavior of soft tissues under large defromations. The structural model here presented was built within the framework of nonlinear continuum mechanics. Tissue damage was simulated considering different damage behaviors for the matrix and the fibers. The model parameters were fit to the experimental data obtained from prolapsed vaginal tissue undergoing finite deformations in uniaxial tension tests. The tests were developed with samples cut along the longitudinal axis of the vagina. The damage model was able to predict the stress-strain behavior and the damage process accurately. The error estimations pointed to an excellent agreement between experimental results and model fittings. For all the fitted data, the normalized RMS error epsilon presented very low values and the coefficient of determinations R(2) was close to 1.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10