High rate properties of porcine skull bone tissue

Kyle Jeffry Herwig, Purdue University

Abstract

Several recent studies have shown the importance of understanding the nature of blast injuries. Traditionally, the lungs and other air filled organs were the focus of these injuries but it is being discovered that some level of brain trauma may result after encountering a blast. These injuries are referred to as traumatic brain injuries, or TBI. There has been many clinical studies and statistical analyses done concerning these injuries, but there is still no physical understanding of the problem. In order to develop a model of how this injury can occur, rate dependent material properties of the tissues the stress wave will travel through are needed. In this study, the compressive response of porcine skull bone through the thickness direction was experimentally determined over a wide range of rates, ranging from 0.001 sec -1 to approximately 3000 sec-1. The results reveal that for most mechanical properties there is a clear rate dependence of the material. However, only one subset of the skull section appeared to have a rate dependent initial modulus, with the rest showing no significant statistical dependence on loading rate. Other mechanical properties appeared to be affected by the loading rate, including the strain energy density.

Degree

M.S.A.A.

Advisors

Chen, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Biomedical engineering|Biomechanics|Materials science

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