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On the dynamic behavior of mineralized tissues

Abstract

Mineralized tissues, such as bone and antler, are complex hierarchical materials that have adapted over millennia to optimize strength and fracture resistance for their in vivo applications. As a structural support, skeletal bone primarily acts as a rigid framework that is resistant to fracture, and able to repair damage and adapt to sustained loads during its lifetime. Antler is typically deciduous and subjected to large bending moments and violent impacts during its annual cycle. To date, extensive characterization of the quasi-static mechanical properties of these materials has been performed. However, very little has been done to characterize their dynamic properties, despite the fact that the majority of failures in these materials occur under impact loads. Here, an in depth analysis of the dynamic mechanical behavior of these two materials is presented, using equine bone obtained post-mortem from donors ranging in age from 6 months to 28 years, and antler from the North American Elk. Specimens were tested under compressive strain rates of 10⁻³, 10⁰, and 10³ sec⁻¹ in order to investigate their strain rate dependent compressive response. Fracture toughness experiments were performed using a four-point bending geometry on single and double-notch specimens in order to measure fracture toughness, as well as observe differences in crack propagation between dynamic (2̃x10⁻⁵ MPa·m¹/²/s) and quasi-static (0̃.25 MPa·m¹/²/s) loading rates. After testing, specimens were analyzed using a combination of optical, electron and confocal microscopy. Results indicated that the mechanical response of these materials is highly dependent on loading rate. Decreasing quasi- static fracture toughness is observed with age in bone specimens, while dynamic specimens show no age trends, yet universally decreased fracture toughness compared to those tested quasi-statically. For the first time, rising R- curve behavior in bone was also shown to exist under both quasi-static and dynamic loading. Antler demonstrated itself to be extremely resistant to impact loading, often requiring multiple impacts to fracture a specimen. Microscopy observations of deformation and crack propagation mechanisms indicate that differences in mechanical behavior between bone and antler, and at varying strain rates, are the result of subtle differences in bulk composition and active microstructural toughening mechanisms

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