Abstract
Replicate bones are widely used as an alternative for cadaveric bones for in vitro testing. These composite bone models are more easily available and show low inter-specimen variability compared to cadaveric bone models. The combination of in vitro testing with in silico models can provide further insights in the evaluation of the mechanical behavior of orthopedic implants. An accurate numerical representation of the experimental model is important to draw meaningful conclusions from the numerical predictions. This study aims to determine the elastic material constants of a commonly used composite clavicle model by combining acoustic experimental and numerical modal analysis. The difference between the experimental and finite element (FE) predicted natural frequencies was minimized by updating the elastic material constants of the transversely isotropic cortical bone analogue that are provided by the manufacturer. The longitudinal Young’s modulus was reduced from 16.00 GPa to 12.88 GPa and the shear modulus was increased from 3.30 GPa to 4.53 GPa. These updated material properties resulted in an average natural frequency difference of 0.49% and a maximum difference of 1.73% between the FE predictions and the experimental results. The presented updated model aims to improve future research that focuses on mechanical simulations with clavicle composite bone models.
Highlights
Composite replicate bone models are often used as an alternative to cadaveric bone models for in vitro biomechanical research, for example, to assess the performance of orthopedic plates and screws used for clavicle fracture fixation [1,2,3,4,5,6]
E33 was decreased from 16.00 GPa to 12.88 GPa and G13 = G23 was increased from 3.30 GPa to 4.53 GPa by the updating procedure, which resulted in an average natural frequency difference of 0.49% and maximum of 1.73% (Mode 5)
This study provides a composite clavicle Finite element (FE) model of which the anisotropic elastic material constants were updated using experimental modal analysis
Summary
Composite replicate bone models are often used as an alternative to cadaveric bone models for in vitro biomechanical research, for example, to assess the performance of orthopedic plates and screws used for clavicle fracture fixation [1,2,3,4,5,6]. They are made of short glass fiber-reinforced epoxy resin (the cortical bone analogue) with a polyurethane foam center (the cancellous bone analogue).
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