Comparing the performance of distinct advanced discretization techniques in the biomechanical analysis of rib bones

Abstract

There are several discretization techniques to analyse the biomechanical response of biostructures, most common technique being the finite element method (FEM). Nevertheless, recently, other advanced discretization techniques have appeared, such as meshless methods. This work aims to provide a comparison between the numerical performances of the FEM and two distinct meshless methods, the radial point interpolation method (RPIM) and the natural neighbour radial point interpolation method (NNRPIM). To compare the performance of these methods, a 3D model of third rib bone is constructed using an anonymized CT image, simulating physiological boundary conditions. The bone material is considered linear-elastic, isotropic and homogeneous. The variable fields, such as displacement, von Mises stress and principal stresses were obtained from the structural analysis. Results show that the NNRPIM is much more computationally expensive than FEM or RPIM. All the solutions obtained with FEM; RPIM and NNRPIM, present similar values and distributions.