An experimental study on samples from a fresh human femur highlighted the viscoelastic behaviour of bone. The memory aspect of the behaviour is weak compared to the elastic aspect. A theoretical and numerical approach based on the finite element method illustrates the existing bond between the structure and the micro behaviour on the one hand, and the macro behaviour on the other. The orthotropic elastic behaviour observed by various authors is shown numerically. The memory functions of compact and spongy bone are given. The numerical results illustrate the behaviour observed in the experiments.

A theoretical and numerical approach based on the finite element method highlights the existing bond between the periodic structure and the micro viscoelastic behavior and on the other hand the macro behavior. The homogenized law, contrary to the micro laws, presents a long memory which is conditioned by the elastic and visco parameters of the micro materials. We focus our attention on the influence of the variation of the micro mechanical parameters on the homogenized long memory function.