TY - JOUR

T1 - Direct and inverse identification of constitutive parameters from the structure of soft tissues.

T2 - Part 2: dispersed arrangement of collagen fibers

AU - von Hoegen, Markus

AU - Marino, Michele

AU - Schröder, Jörg

AU - Wriggers, Peter

N1 - Funding Information: M. Marino acknowledges that this work has been carried out within the framework of the SMART BIOTECS alliance between the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Leibniz University of Hannover. This initiative is financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) of Lower Saxony, Germany.

PY - 2019/8/15

Y1 - 2019/8/15

N2 - This paper investigates on the relationship between the arrangement of collagen fibers within soft tissues and parameters of constitutive models. Starting from numerical experiments based on biaxial loading conditions, the study addresses both the direct (from structure to mechanics) and the inverse (from mechanics to structure) problems, solved introducing optimization problems for model calibration and regression analysis. A campaign of parametric analyses is conducted in order to consider fibers distributions with different main orientation and angular dispersion. Different anisotropic constitutive models are employed, accounting for fibers dispersion either with a generalized structural approach or with an increasing number of strain energy terms. Benchmark data sets, toward which constitutive models are fitted, are built by employing a multiscale description of fiber nonlinearities and accounting for fibers dispersion with an angular integration method. Results show how the optimal values of constitutive parameters obtained from model calibration vary as a function of fibers arrangement and testing protocol. Moreover, the fitting capabilities of constitutive models are discussed. A novel strategy for model calibration is also proposed, in order to obtain a robust accuracy with respect to different loading conditions starting from a low number of mechanical tests. Furthermore, novel results useful for the inverse determination of the mean angle and the variance of fibers distribution are obtained. Therefore, the study contributes: to better design procedures for model calibration; to account for mechanical alterations due to remodeling mechanisms; and to gain structural information in a nondestructive way.

AB - This paper investigates on the relationship between the arrangement of collagen fibers within soft tissues and parameters of constitutive models. Starting from numerical experiments based on biaxial loading conditions, the study addresses both the direct (from structure to mechanics) and the inverse (from mechanics to structure) problems, solved introducing optimization problems for model calibration and regression analysis. A campaign of parametric analyses is conducted in order to consider fibers distributions with different main orientation and angular dispersion. Different anisotropic constitutive models are employed, accounting for fibers dispersion either with a generalized structural approach or with an increasing number of strain energy terms. Benchmark data sets, toward which constitutive models are fitted, are built by employing a multiscale description of fiber nonlinearities and accounting for fibers dispersion with an angular integration method. Results show how the optimal values of constitutive parameters obtained from model calibration vary as a function of fibers arrangement and testing protocol. Moreover, the fitting capabilities of constitutive models are discussed. A novel strategy for model calibration is also proposed, in order to obtain a robust accuracy with respect to different loading conditions starting from a low number of mechanical tests. Furthermore, novel results useful for the inverse determination of the mean angle and the variance of fibers distribution are obtained. Therefore, the study contributes: to better design procedures for model calibration; to account for mechanical alterations due to remodeling mechanisms; and to gain structural information in a nondestructive way.

KW - Constitutive models

KW - Fiber dispersion

KW - Inverse analysis

KW - Parameters identification

KW - Soft tissue mechanics

KW - Regression Analysis

KW - Algorithms

KW - Models, Biological

KW - Fibrillar Collagens/physiology

KW - Organ Specificity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061254100&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10237-019-01119-3

DO - 10.1007/s10237-019-01119-3

M3 - Article

C2 - 30737633

AN - SCOPUS:85061254100

VL - 18

SP - 897

EP - 920

JO - Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology

JF - Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology

SN - 1617-7959

IS - 4

ER -