Abstract
The distribution of collagen fibres plays a significant role in the mechanical behaviour of artery walls. Experimental data show that in most artery wall layers there are two (or more) in-plane symmetrically disposed families of fibres. However, a recent investigation revealed that some artery wall layers have only one preferred fibre direction, notably in the medial layer of human common iliac arteries. This paper aims to provide a possible explanation for this intriguing phenomenon. An invariant-based constitutive model is utilized to characterize the mechanical behaviour of tissues. We then use three different hypotheses to determine the ‘optimal fibre angle’ in an iliac artery model. All three hypotheses lead to the same result that the optimal fibre angle in the medial layer of the iliac artery is close to the circumferential direction. The axial pre-stretch, in particular, is found to play an essential role in determining the optimal fibre angle.
Highlights
The collagen fibres within artery walls play a central role in the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of walls (Holzapfel et al, 2000; Gasser et al, 2006)
From a mechanical point of view, we have suggested an explanation for the rather unusual fibre distribution in the medial layer of the human common iliac artery
All three approaches suggest that the optimal fibre angle in the medial layer of human iliac arteries is zero relative to the circumferential direction, as documented in Schriefl et al (2012)
Summary
The collagen fibres within artery walls play a central role in the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of walls (Holzapfel et al, 2000; Gasser et al, 2006). Artery walls are usually composed of three distinct layers, the intima, the media and the adventitia, and it is widely accepted that variations exist in both the structural composition and the material properties of artery walls in different regions of the arterial tree, even from the same individual (Mangell et al, 1996; Holzapfel et al, 2000, 2004). Collagen fibres are key ingredients in the structure of artery walls. In most of the regions, load bearing layers such as the media and the adventitia are shown to have two (or more) in-plane symmetrically disposed families of fibres
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