A damage model for collagen fibres with an application to collagenous soft tissues. (29th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holzapfel, Gerhard A.; Ogden, Ray W.
• Is Part Of: Proceedings. Volume 476:Number 2236(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-04-29
• Subjects: artery elasticity -- collagen fibres -- collagen cross-links -- fibrous tissue -- fibre damage; Physical sciences -- Periodicals; Engineering -- Periodicals; Mathematics -- Periodicals; 500
• DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2019.0821
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1364-5021

Abstract

Abstract : We propose a mechanical model to account for progressive damage in collagen fibres within fibrous soft tissues. The model has a similar basis to the pseudoelastic model that describes the Mullins effect in rubber but it also accounts for the effect of cross-links between collagen fibres. We show that the model is able to capture experimental data obtained from rat tail tendon fibres, and the combined effect of damage and collagen cross-links is illustrated for a simple shear test. The proposed three-dimensional framework allows a straightforward implementation in finite-element codes, which are needed to analyse more complex boundary-value problems for soft tissues under supra-physiological loading or tissues weakened by disease.