Formulation and Analysis of a Dynamic Fiber Composite Continuum Model of the Tympanic Membrane

摘要

A dynamic continuum model of the tympanic membrane is formulated by accounting for its fibrous structure and including membrane type restoring mechanisms, internal structural damping, curvatures, of the drum, and spatially varying properties. Accepted experimental observations are combined with the ultrastructure to argue that bending, torsional, and shear restoring forces are secondary at moderate to high sound pressure levels. The resulting model is sufficiently simple that closed form asymptotic solutions can be found which contain adequate physical content to address questions of the vibrational shape, the transient response, impulse failure, tympanoplasty effects, Eustachian tube coupling and similar related problems.