Effect of lamellae thickness on the stress distribution in single osteon with the presence of lacunae

Abstract

Abstract Bone is made up of multiple components that are arranged hierarchically to give unique toughness to the bone. However, bone is still susceptible to the fracture. Various events might initiate the crack in the bone structure, such as falling from high place and vehicle accidence. Previous studies reported that the stress distribution in the bone was affected by the microstructure that presence in the bone such as interstitial matrix, cement line and osteon. The presence of osteon in the bone was reported to affect the microcrack propagation in the bone microstructure. However, there is still a missing link between the bone microstructure and bone fracture. This study was aimed to identify the ultimate stress region in the single osteon with different lamellae thickness and presence lacunae. Numerical models of single osteon were developed using Finite Element Method. Based on the stress distribution in the models, the ultimate stress region is predicted as a location of microcrack initiation. Finite element analysis of the single osteon model under compressive loading has been carried out. Based on the results, highest ultimate stress was found in the osteon model with lamellae thickness = 55.0 µm with no lacunae. These findings suggest that thickness of the lamellae did affect the stress distribution in the single osteon model. The results will be useful as the preliminary results for the future studies for bone damage and failure.