Multiscale modeling of effective properties of cortical bone

• Grant number: 15/16219-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 21, 2015
• End date: December 20, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Bioengineering
• Principal Investigator: Adair Roberto Aguiar
• Grantee: Uziel Paulo da Silva
• Supervisor: Iwona Jasiuk
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/21836-2 - Multiscale modeling and evaluation of effective properties of cortical bone, BP.PD

Abstract

Multiscale methods have been carried out to characterize cortical bone as a heterogeneous material with hierarchical structure. We wish to employ the Asymptotic Homogenization Method (AHM) to determine the effective electromechanical properties of cortical bones. First, we will model cortical bone as a two-phase composite (spanning from mesoscale, in the range of 1-10 cm and involving an arrangement of osteons in cortical bone, to macroscale, involving the whole bone) containing a periodic distribution of circular cylindrical holes in a piezoelectric matrix of symmetry class 6. Each hole in the matrix is centered in a regular hexagonal cell. We will use the AHM on the corresponding boundary value problem to evaluate the effective electromechanical constants of the resulting homogenized medium. Mathematical modeling of boundary value problems that lead to the determination of the effective piezoelectric properties of biological tissues is difficult and requires the involvement of research groups with different backgrounds. This motivates and justifies the candidate's initiative to spend some time abroad with a research group that has extensive experience in multiscale modeling of hierarchical structures. The candidate's participation in this project will allow him to extend his research interests into areas related to cortical bone modeling and beyond