Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • 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
      618Scopus© Citations 167
  • Publication
    Determination of friction coefficient in unconfined compression of brain tissue
    Unconfined compression tests are more convenient to perform on cylindrical samples of brain tissue than tensile tests in order to estimate mechanical properties of the brain tissue because they allow homogeneous deformations. The reliability of these tests depends significantly on the amount of friction generated at the specimen/platen interface. Thus, there is a crucial need to find an approximate value of the friction coefficient in order to predict a possible overestimation of stresses during unconfined compression tests. In this study, a combined experimental–computational approach was adopted to estimate the dynamic friction coefficient μ of porcine brain matter against metal platens in compressive tests. Cylindrical samples of porcine brain tissue were tested up to 30% strain at variable strain rates, both under bonded and lubricated conditions in the same controlled environment. It was established that μ was equal to 0.09±0.03, 0.18±0.04, 0.18±0.04 and 0.20±0.02 at strain rates of 1, 30, 60 and 90/s, respectively. Additional tests were also performed to analyze brain tissue under lubricated and bonded conditions, with and without initial contact of the top platen with the brain tissue, with different specimen aspect ratios and with different lubricants (Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Silicone). The test conditions (lubricant used, biological tissue, loading velocity) adopted in this study were similar to the studies conducted by other research groups. This study will help to understand the amount of friction generated during unconfined compression of brain tissue for strain rates of up to 90/s.
      369Scopus© Citations 26
  • Publication
    Experimental Characterisation of Neural Tissue at Collision Speeds
    (International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury, 2012) ; ;
    Mechanical characterization of brain tissue at high loading velocities is particularly important for modelling Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). During severe impact conditions, brain tissue experiences a mixture of compression, tension and shear. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) occurs in animals and humans when both the strains and strain rates exceed 10% and 10/s, respectively. Knowing the mechanical properties of brain tissue at these strains and strain rates is of particular importance, as they can be used in finite element simulations to predict the occurrence of brain injuries under different impact conditions. In this research, we describe the design and operation of a High Rate Tension Device (HRTD) that has been used for tensile tests on freshly harvested specimens of porcine neural tissue at speeds corresponding to a maximum strain rate of 90/s. We investigate the effects of inhomogeneous deformation of the tissue during tension by quasi‐static tests (strain rate 0.01/s) and dynamic tests (strain rate 90/s) using different thickness specimens (4.0, 7.0, 10.0 and 13.0 mm) of the same diameter (15.0 mm). Based on a combined experimental and computational 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. The Ogden material parameters were derived from the experimental data both at quasi‐static conditions (µ = 440 Pa and α = ‐4.8 at 0.01/s strain rate) and dynamic conditions (µ = 4238 Pa and α = 2.8 at 90/s strain rate) by performing an inverse finite element analysis to model all experimental data. These material parameters will prove useful for the nonlinear hyperelastic analysis of brain tissue.
      208