A Generalized Large Deformation Constitutive Model for Forming Tissues in Needled Non-Woven Scaffolds

摘要

In order to evaluate the mechanical quality of forming engineered soft tissues, it is essential to predict the forming extracellular matrix (ECM) phase mechanical properties from the overall composite response. Without a proper formulation, it is impossible to know, in a quantitative sense, to what degree the measured mechanical response is influenced by the remaining scaffold component. Previous modeling efforts have resulted in a descriptive mechanical model for intact needle non-woven (NNW) scaffolds (Fig. 1). When applied to tissue-scaffold composites using the rule of mixtures, however, this model was not able to account for the observed increases in stiffness of the composite and substantially underestimated the predicted composite stiffness compared to the experimentally measured values. The models was also restricted to small deformations, and the meso-scale composite model relies heavily on an empirically determined coupling factor to account for observed scaffold-ECM interactions.