Crack density versus crack size predictions for cortical bone using a penny-shaped crack model

摘要

While it is generally accepted that damage accumulation in the form of cracks at some scale is the mechanism for the degradation of mechanical properties of bone, relatively little is known about the scale at which the damage occurs. Damagemanifests itself as an increase in compliance[2,3,4,8], and it has been speculated to occur at a sub-osteonal level. This paper utilizes a penny-shaped crack model to estimate the characteristics of the cracks consistent with observed compliance changes.The results for crack densities versus crack size suggest that damage responsible for tensile stiffness degradation are at a sub-lamellar scale.