A constitutive model for two-dimensional soft tissues and its application to experimental data.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Soft tissues like skin and pericardium exhibit complex mechanical properties.
• Modeling these properties is crucial for understanding tissue function and disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate a constitutive model for the mechanical behavior of two-dimensional soft tissues.
• To assess the model's ability to fit experimental biaxial stress-strain data.

Main Methods:

• The Shoemaker constitutive model was applied to experimental data from human skin and canine pericardium.
• Curvefitting techniques were used to determine material parameters and compare model predictions with experimental results.

Main Results:

• The constitutive model demonstrated a strong ability to fit individual experimental tests.
• Material parameters were determined for human skin and canine pericardium.
• Model predictions showed favorable agreement with experimental data, with good, though not complete, generality across tests.

Conclusions:

• The constitutive model effectively captures the mechanical behavior of membraneous soft tissues.
• The model's performance is comparable to other existing models in the literature.
• Further validation may be needed to fully establish its predictive power for diverse soft tissue applications.