NEW INSIGHT INTO DEFORMATION-DEPENDENT HYDRAULIC PERMEABILITY OF HYDROGELS AND CARTILAGE

摘要

A new relationship between intrinsic permeability and porosity has been discovered for hydrogels and cartilage. This relationship (Equation 3) is accurate over a wide range of permeabilities (four orders of magnitude variation). From this relationship, a new equation for deformation-dependent permeability is derived. The results of this study provide a new insight into deformation-dependent permeability behavior of hydrogel and cartilage, and are important for understanding biological responses of cells to interstitial fluid flow in gel or in cartilage under mechanical loading.