Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    Inhomogeneous deformation of brain tissue during tension tests
    Mechanical characterization of brain tissue has been investigated extensively by various research groups over the past fifty years. These properties are particularly important for modelling Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) by using finite element human head models to simulate brain injuries under different impact conditions. They are also increasingly important for computer assisted neurosurgery. During severe impact conditions, brain tissue experiences compression, tension and shear; however only limited tests have been performed in tension. Typically, cylindrical specimen are prepared and glued to platens to perform tensile tests which produce an inhomogeneous deformation field near the boundaries, thus contributing to higher magnitudes of stresses. In this research, we present the design and calibration of a High Rate Tension Device (HRTD) capable of performing tests up to a maximum strain rate of 90/s. We use experimental and numerical methods to investigate the effects of inhomogeneous deformation of porcine brain tissue during tension at different specimen thicknesses (4.0 – 14.0 mm), by performing tension tests at a strain rate of 30/s. One-term Ogden material parameters ( = 4395.0 Pa, a = - 2.8) were derived by performing an inverse finite element analysis to model all experimental data. A similar procedure was adopted to determine the Young’s modulus ( E = 11200 Pa) of the linear elastic regime. Based on this analysis, brain specimens of aspect ratio (diameter/thickness) S = 10/10 or lower (10/12, 10/13) are considered suitable for minimizing the effects of inhomogeneous deformation during tension tests.
      512Scopus© Citations 37
  • Publication
    Mechanical characterization of brain tissue in compression at dynamic strain rates
    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when local mechanical load exceeds certain tolerance levels for brain tissue. Extensive research has been done previously for brain matter experiencing compression at quasistatic loading; however, limited data is available to model TBI under dynamic impact conditions. In this research, an experimental setup was developed to perform unconfined compression tests and stress relaxation tests at strain rates ≤90/s. The brain tissue showed a stiffer response with increasing strain rates, showing that hyperelastic models are not adequate. Specifically, the compressive nominal stress at 30% strain was 8.83 ± 1.94, 12.8 ± 3.10 and 16.0 ± 1.41 kPa (mean ± SD) at strain rates of 30, 60 and 90/s, respectively. Relaxation tests were also conducted at 10%–50% strain with the average rise time of 10 ms, which can be used to derive time dependent parameters. Numerical simulations were performed using one-term Ogden model with initial shear modulus μo=6.06±1.44, 9.44 ± 2.427 and 12.64 ± 1.227 kPa (mean ± SD) at strain rates of 30, 60 and 90/s, respectively. A separate set of bonded and lubricated tests were also performed under the same test conditions to estimate the friction coefficient μ, by adopting combined experimental–computational approach. The values of μ were 0.1 ± 0.03 and 0.15 ± 0.07 (mean ± SD) at 30 and 90/s strain rates, respectively, indicating that pure slip conditions cannot be achieved in unconfined compression tests even under fully lubricated test conditions. The material parameters obtained in this study will help to develop biofidelic human brain finite element models, which can subsequently be used to predict brain injuries under impact conditions.
      630Scopus© Citations 196
  • Publication
    Mechanical characterization of brain tissue in tension at dynamic strain rates
    Mechanical characterization of brain tissue at high loading velocities is crucial for modeling Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). During severe impact conditions, brain tissue experiences compression, tension and shear. Limited experimental data is available for brain
      623Scopus© Citations 169
  • Publication
    A high rate tension device for characterizing brain tissue
    (Sage Publications, 2012-03-08) ; ;
    The mechanical characterization of brain tissue at high loading velocities is vital for understanding and modeling traumatic brain injury. The most severe form of traumatic brain injury is diffuse axonal injury, which involves damage to individual nerve cells (neurons). Diffuse axonal injury in animals and humans occurs at strains >10% and strain rates >10 s−1. The mechanical properties of brain tissues at these strains and strain rates are of particular significance, as they can be used in finite element human head models to accurately predict brain injuries under different impact conditions. Existing conventional tensile testing machines can only achieve maximum loading velocities of 500 mm/min, whereas the Kolsky bar apparatus is more suitable for strain rates >100 s−1. In this study, a custom-designed high rate tension device is developed and calibrated to estimate the mechanical properties of brain tissue in tension at strain rates ≤ 90 s−1, while maintaining a uniform velocity. The range of strain can o be extended to 100% depending on the thickness of a sample. The same apparatus can be used to characterize the dynamic behavior of skin and other soft biological tissues by using appropriately sized load cells with a capacity of 10 N and above.
      358Scopus© Citations 9
  • Publication
    Towards a predictive assessment of stab-penetration forces
    Collaborative research between the disciplines of forensic pathology and biomechanics was undertaken to investigate the hyperelastic properties of human skin, to determine the force required for sharp instrument penetration of skin, and to develop a finite element model, which reflects the mechanisms of sharp instrument penetration. These studies have led to the development of a 'stab metric', based on simulations, to describe the force magnitudes in stabbing incidents. Such a metric should, in time, replace the crudely quantitative descriptors of stabbing forces currently used by forensic pathologists.
      470Scopus© Citations 11