Osmo-inelastic response of the intervertebral disc annulus fibrosus tissue.

The aim of this article is to provide some insights on the osmo-inelastic response under stretching of annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc. Circumferentially oriented specimens of square cross section, extracted from different regions of bovine cervical discs (ventral-lateral and dorsal-lateral), are tested under different strain-rates and saline concentrations within normal range of strains. An accurate optical strain measuring technique, based upon digital image correlation, is used in order to determine the full-field displacements in the lamellae and fibers planes of the layered soft tissue.

How pre-strain affects the chemo-torsional response of the intervertebral disc.

Background: The role of the axial pre-strain on the torsional response of the intervertebral disc remains largely undefined. Moreover, the chemo-mechanical interactions in disc tissues are still unclear and corresponding data are rare in the literature. The paper deals with an in-vitro study of the pre-strain effect on the chemical sensitivity of the disc torsional response.

Osmo-inelastic response of the intervertebral disc.

The intervertebral disc exhibits a complex inelastic response characterized by relaxation, hysteresis during cyclic loading and rate dependency. All these inelastic phenomena depend on osmotic interactions between disc tissues and their surrounding chemical environment. Coupling between osmotic and inelastic effects is not fully understood, so this article aimed to study the influence of chemical conditions on the inelastic behaviour of the intervertebral disc in response to different modes of loading.

Damage mechanisms in bioactive glass matrix composites under uniaxial compression.

The damage and crack resistance improvement of bioactive glass is of prime importance, particularly when applied to the repair of load-bearing bones. The present contribution is focused on the prediction of damage mechanisms and crack resistance under uniaxial compression of bioactive glass matrix composites reinforced with a particulate phase. In order to characterize the effects of voids and particles on the damage mechanisms and the macro-response, a two-step homogenization is performed by considering the two phases existing at two different scales: micro/meso through the homogenization of the porous matrix and then meso/macro through the periodic micro-field approach.