Finite strain parametric HFGMC micromechanics of soft tissues

A micromechanical analysis is offered for the prediction of the global behavior of biological tissues. The analysis is based on the isotropic-hyperelastic behavior of the individual constituents (Collagen and Elastin), their volume fractions, and takes into account their detailed interactions. The present analysis predicts the instantaneous tensors from which the effective current first tangent tensor is established, thus providing the overall anisotropic constitutive behavior of the composite and the resulting field distribution in the composite. This is in contradistinction with the macroanalysis in which the composite internal energy, which involves unknown functions that depend on several strain invariants, must be proposed. The offered micromechanical analysis forms a generalization to the finite strain high-fidelity generalized method of cells (HFGMC) based on the homogenization technique for periodic composites to the parametric finite strain. This involves an arbitrary discretization of the repeating unit-cell of the periodic composites. Results are given for the response of the human abdominal aorta, which consists of three layered tissues: intima, media, and adventitia, all of which are composed out of the Collagen and Elastin. The isotropic-hyperelastic constituents (Mooney-Rivlin and Yeoh) of the composites are calibrated by utilizing available experimental data which describe the response of the tissue. Validation of the results is performed by comparison of the predicted Cauchy stress and stretches with the experimental measurements. In addition, results are given in the form of Cauchy stress and deformation gradient field distributions in the constituents of several tissues.

Analysis of fiber strain in the human tongue during speech

This study investigates mechanical cooperation among tongue muscles. Five volunteers were imaged using tagged magnetic resonance imaging to quantify spatiotemporal kinematics while speaking. Waveforms of strain in the line of action of fibers (SLAF) were estimated by projecting strain tensors onto a model of fiber directionality. SLAF waveforms were temporally aligned to determine consistency across subjects and correlation across muscles. The cohort exhibited consistent patterns of SLAF, and muscular extension-contraction was correlated. Volume-preserving tongue movement in speech generation can be achieved through multiple paths, but the study reveals similarities in motion patterns and muscular action-despite anatomical (and other) dissimilarities.

Heterogeneous growth-induced prestrain in the heart

Even when entirely unloaded, biological structures are not stress-free, as shown by Y.C. Fung׳s seminal opening angle experiment on arteries and the left ventricle. As a result of this prestrain, subject-specific geometries extracted from medical imaging do not represent an unloaded reference configuration necessary for mechanical analysis, even if the structure is externally unloaded. Here we propose a new computational method to create physiological residual stress fields in subject-specific left ventricular geometries using the continuum theory of fictitious configurations combined with a fixed-point iteration. We also reproduced the opening angle experiment on four swine models, to characterize the range of normal opening angle values. The proposed method generates residual stress fields which can reliably reproduce the range of opening angles between 8.7±1.8 and 16.6±13.7 as measured experimentally. We demonstrate that including the effects of prestrain reduces the left ventricular stiffness by up to 40%, thus facilitating the ventricular filling, which has a significant impact on cardiac function. This method can improve the fidelity of subject-specific models to improve our understanding of cardiac diseases and to optimize treatment options.