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A Coupled Experiment-finite Element Modeling Methodology for Assessing High Strain Rate Mechanical Response of Soft Biomaterials
Published on: May 18, 2015
The high strain-rate behaviour of selected tissue analogues
G J Appleby-Thomas1, P J Hazell2, R P Sheldon1
1Cranfield Defence and Security, Cranfield University, DA-CMT, Shrivenham, Swindon SN6 8LA, UK.
Summary
Investigating tissue simulants like gelatin, soap, lard, and Sylgard® under high strain rates revealed distinct shock responses. No single simulant accurately captures complex mammalian tissue behavior, indicating limitations in ballistic applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biophysics
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Understanding the high strain-rate behavior of biological tissues is crucial for applications like ballistic impact analysis.
- Tissue simulants are often used to model the complex mechanical responses of mammalian tissues.
- The applicability of monolithic tissue surrogates in the ballistic regime requires thorough investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the high strain-rate response of four common tissue simulants: gelatin, ballistic soap, lard, and Sylgard®.
- To compare the shock response of these simulants to assess their suitability for modeling mammalian tissue under ballistic conditions.
- To determine if a single tissue simulant can adequately represent the complex behavior of biological tissues at high strain rates.
Main Methods:
- Plate-impact experiments were conducted to measure the shock response of the selected tissue simulants.
- Analysis of Hugoniot equations-of-state in the US-uP plane was performed.
- Material behavior was examined in the P/σX-v/v0 plane, including investigation of lateral stress data from literature.
Main Results:
- Gelatin and lard exhibited linear Hugoniot equations-of-state, characteristic of classic materials.
- Ballistic soap and Sylgard® displayed a non-linear, polymer-like response.
- Simulants separated into distinct groups, indicating that a single surrogate is insufficient for high-fidelity modeling of complex mammalian tissue.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights that monolithic tissue simulants have limitations in accurately replicating the high strain-rate response of diverse mammalian tissues.
- Gelatin behaved hydrodynamically, while soap, lard, and Sylgard® showed material-dependent strengthening, possibly due to molecular chain rearrangement (steric effects).
- A material-independent strengthening mechanism was observed above 2.5-3.0 GPa, potentially linked to the polymeric microstructure of the simulants.
