A new model to simulate the elastic properties of mineralized collagen fibril

Fang Yuan*, Stuart R. Stock, Dean R. Haeffner, Jonathan D. Almer, David C. Dunand, L. Catherine Brinson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

71 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bone, because of its hierarchical composite structure, exhibits an excellent combination of stiffness and toughness, which is due substantially to the structural order and deformation at the smaller length scales. Here, we focus on the mineralized collagen fibril, consisting of hydroxyapatite plates with nanometric dimensions aligned within a protein matrix, and emphasize the relationship between the structure and elastic properties of a mineralized collagen fibril. We create two-and three-dimensional representative volume elements to represent the structure of the fibril and evaluate the importance of the parameters defining its structure and properties of the constituent mineral and collagen phase. Elastic stiffnesses are calculated by the finite element method and compared with experimental data obtained by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The computational results match the experimental data well, and provide insight into the role of the phases and morphology on the elastic deformation characteristics. Also, the effects of water, imperfections in the mineral phase and mineral content outside the mineralized collagen fibril upon its elastic properties are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)147-160
Number of pages14
JournalBiomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2011

Funding

Acknowledgments We thank Ms. A. C. Deymier-Black for assistance with TGA measurement. We also thank Ms. A. Singhal and Ms. A. C. Deymier-Black for their invaluable assistance and discussions about the structure and mechanical properties of the mineralized collagen fibril. This study is financially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Keywords

  • Bone
  • Collagen fibril
  • Finite element analysis
  • Modeling
  • Structure-property relationship

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Mechanical Engineering

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