The role of fluid flow on bone mechanobiology: mathematical modeling and simulation

Abstract

The effect of fluid flow on tissue adaptation was the focus of many research works during the last years. Moreover, the use of poroelasticity models to simulate and understand the interstitial flow movement has taken interest due to the possibility to include the fluid effect on mechanical simulations. In particular, shear stresses induced by bone canalicular fluid flow are suggested to be one of the mechanical stimulus controlling bone remodeling processes. Due to the high difficulty to measure canalicular fluid flow and shear stresses, computational poroelastic models can be used in order to estimate these parameters. In this work, a finite element dual porosity model based on Russian doll poroelasticity is developed. Two experiments with a turkey ulna and a human femur are simulated. Bone lacuno-canalicular fluid flow is computed and compared with the experimental results, focusing on the zones of bone remodeling and showing a relation between this flow and the bone formation process.