A method for measuring linearly viscoelastic properties of human tympanic membrane using nanoindentation

A viscoelastic nanoindentation technique was developed to measure both in-plane and through-thickness viscoelastic properties of human tympanic membrane (TM). For measurement of in-plane Young's relaxation modulus, the TM sample was clamped on a circular hole and a nanoindenter tip was used to apply a concentrated force at the center of the TM sample. In this setup, the resistance to nanoindentation displacement can be considered due primarily to the in-plane stiffness. The load-displacement curve obtained was used along with finite element analysis to determine the in-plane viscoelastic properties of TM. For measurements of Young's relaxation modulus in the through-thickness (out-of-plane) direction, the TM sample was placed on a relatively rigid solid substrate and nanoindentation was made on the sample surface. In this latter setup, the resistance to nanoindentation displacement arises primarily due to out-of-plane stiffness. The load-displacement curve obtained in this manner was used to determine the out-of-plane relaxation modulus using the method appropriate for viscoelastic materials. From our sample tests, we obtained the steady-state values for in-plane moduli as approximately 17.4 MPa and approximately 19.0 MPa for posterior and anterior portions of TM samples, respectively, and the value for through-thickness modulus as approximately 6.0 MPa for both posterior and anterior TM samples. Using this technique, the local out-of-plane viscoelastic modulus can be determined for different locations over the entire TM, and the in-plane properties can be determined for different quadrants of the TM.