Comparison of methods for including porosity in micromechanics of compact bone tissue

The focus of the present work is on a particular type of bone tissue, Haversian compact bone, which comprises the dense bone in the mid-shaft region of the long bones of the legs and arms. More specifically, the emphasis is on developing composite material micromechanics modeling and analysis techniques as a mechanism for gaining insight into the fundamental relationships between bone microstructure and macroscopic mechanical behavior. A comparison of micromechanics methods for modeling Haversian compact bone suggests that the Mori-Tanaka approach holds reasonable promise for predicting the variation in mechanical properties with porosity. The experimental data are scant, however, so the findings are quite tentative. The 2-D finite element unit cell analysis is limited in its present form to predicting an essentially linear decrease in modulus with porosity. The finite element method nevertheless possesses significant advantages.

Comparison of methods for including porosity in micromechanics of compact bone tissue Conference Paper