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Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Biomechanical Characterization of Human Soft Tissues Using Indentation and Tensile Testing
Published on: December 13, 2016
Application of flexural and membrane stress analysis to distinguish tensile and compressive moduli of biologic
1Kohles Bioengineering,Portland, OR, USA; Division of Biomaterials & Biomechanics, School of Dentistry And Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Abstract:
Three-point bending is often used during the mechanical determination of tissue material properties. When taken to failure, the test samples often experience high deformations. The objective of this study was to present beam and plate theories as analytical tools for determining tensile and compressive elastic moduli during the transition from flexure to membrane stress states. Samples of cartilage, a highly flexible connective tissue having differing tensile and compressive moduli, were tested. Three-point bending tests were conducted on auricular (ear) and costal (rib) cartilage harvested from pigs. The influence of span length variation and Poisson's ratio assumptions were statistically assessed. Tensile elastic moduli of the ear (3.886 MPa) and rib (6.131 MPa) were derived from high-deformation bending tests. The functional assessment described here can be applied as a design input approach for tissue reconstruction and tissue engineering, considering both hard and soft tissue applications.
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