Abstract

CIACCIA, Marco; SAN ANTONIO, Thalia; MULLER-KARGER, Carmen  and  CASANOVA, Euro. Influence of modelling boundary conditions in the simulation of mechanical tests of bovine bones. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.2, pp.5-15. ISSN 0798-4065.

The aim of this work is to study the influence of different configurations of boundary conditions in the behavior of finite elements models built to simulate mechanical tests of two front bovine tibias. Computerized tomography was used to reconstruct the geometry and to assign mechanical properties which include the heterogeneity and orthotropy of the bone tissue. Three point bending and compression tests were performed to sample tests made from the bones in order to validate the simulations. The models of the sample tests were meshed and different boundary conditions were implemented to simulate the mechanical tests and optimize their applications. The best results were found when the load was applied through the imposition of displacements and when the support boundary conditions reproduced closely the links present in the mechanical tests. Also this study shows that experimental tests are an invaluable tool for the validation and adjustment of FE simulations.

Keywords : Boundary conditions; Finite element simulation; Bone models; Bone tissue; Mechanical tests.