Finite Element Modeling of Human Clavicle under Dynamic Loading

Abstract

Clavicle fractures are common injuries that may from dynamic events such as falls or blunt-body trauma. Methods of repair may be non-operative, or surgical. Surgical repair is accomplished via fixation plates or intramedullary rods. The research investigated the use, and prediction accuracy, of advanced material models within a finite element framework to predict dynamic stresses and strains within the clavicle body which would be subjected to a dynamic load. The material models used were considered to be viscoelastic and orthotropic. The proposed finite element models were successfully verified against experimental results available in literature. The models were then used to predict the timevarying stresses and strains within the clavicle as a result of arbitrarily-chosen, short-impact dynamic loading. A comparison of predictions, corresponding to each material model, was performed.

The Use of a Vibro-Acoustic Based Method to Determine the Composite Material Properties of a Replicate Clavicle Bone Model

“…In addition to implementing these updated models in vibration-based biomechanical research as stated above, vibration-validated clavicle FE models can also find their application in numerical orthopedic research applications, such as the assessment of clavicle fracture fixation treatments [ 4 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 46 ], influence of patient-specific parameters on clavicle fractures [ 47 ] or analysis of stress shielding effects in clavicle fracture fixation treatments [ 16 ].…”

“…FE analysis offers the possibility to analyze biomechanical structures while controlling multiple parameters, such as loading/boundary conditions, geometry, material properties etc., contributing to a better insight in the studied problem. More specifically, FE models have found their merit in clavicle-related orthopedic research, such as the assessment of stress, strain and micro-motion distribution in clavicle fracture fixation treatments [ 4 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] or the quantification of stress shielding around clavicle fracture fixation implants [ 16 ].…”

Strain Distribution Evaluation of Rat Tibia under Axial Compressive Load by Combining Strain Gauge Measurement and Finite Element Analysis

“…Since the experimental strains were well correlated with the FEA results using the second-order tetrahedral finite elements [25], the tibial models were meshed using the 10-node quadratic element SOLID187 in Hypermesh® [26, 27]. All tibiae tested by strain gauge measurement were simulated in FEA, that is, a total of 15 finite element models based on micro-CT scanning built.…”