Mechanical Behavior of Hinge Lozenge Grid Structure

Abstract

There are two phenomena in the inflation process of the existing stent, dogboning and axial expansion, which will shorten the life of the stent and lead to the failure of stenting. Firstly, The hinge lozenge grid structure with negative Possion’s ratio was reported. Secondly, the process of inflation and springback of stent were simulated based on finite element method in order to analyse its expansion, axial expansion ratio and resilience rate. It is demonstrated that hinge lozenge grid structure with symmetrical deformation exhibits “full-scale expansion” structural properties. Besides, the diameter of inflated stent is twice as much as initial after expansion. Also, it shows axial elongation as well as increasing axial expansion ratio. The displacement changes obviously with the increase of pressure with other conditions unchanged. This new structure not only improves the radial support performance of intravascular stents significantly, but also overcomes the shortage of traditional stents, which provides a new idea for the design and optimization of intravascular stents.