Viscoelastic studies of human subscapularis tendon: relaxation test and a Wiechert model

Numerical techniques such as the finite element method employ the material constitutive laws for their analysis. With regards to finite element analysis involving viscoelastic solids, the Generalized Standard Linear Solid (Wiechert) model has been a popular choice among available constitutive laws. Although numerous models have been developed to specifically describe the viscoelastic behavior of tendons and ligaments, most of them have not been implemented in commercial finite element packages. This paper describes a stress relaxation test on the human subscapularis tendon, and then presents an approach for obtaining constitutive parameters of a Wiechert model for the human subscapularis tendon using experimental data from the aforementioned relaxation test. The approach is general and thus, can be applied to other tendons and ligaments, as well as any linear viscoelastic solid materials. The Wiechert model is required if finite element analysis using the commercial finite element package ANSYS is to be performed for a biomechanic structure composed of tendons and/or ligaments.