A NONLINEAR HYPERELASTIC BEHAVIOR TO IDENTIFY THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF RAT SKIN UNDER UNIAXIAL LOADING

作者:Karimi Alireza; Faturechi Rahim; Navidbakhsh Mahdi*; Hashemi Seyyed Ataollah
来源:Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology, 2014, 14(5): 1450075.
DOI:10.1142/S0219519414500754

摘要

Skin is a thin membrane which provides many biological functions, such as thermoregulation and protection from mechanical, bacterial, and viral insults. The mechanical properties of skin tissue are extremely hard to measure and may vary according to the anatomical locations of a body. However, the mechanical properties of skin at different anatomical regions have not been satisfactorily simulated by conventional engineering models. In this study, the linear elastic and nonlinear hyperelastic mechanical properties of rat skin at different anatomical locations, including back and abdomen, are investigated using a series of tensile tests. The Young%26apos;s modulus and maximum stress of skin tissue are measured before the incidence of failure. The nonlinear mechanical behavior of skin tissue is also experimentally and computationally investigated through constitutive equations. Hyperelastic strain energy density functions are adjusted using the experimental results. A hyperelastic constitutive model is selected to suitably represent the axial behavior of the skin. The results reveal that the maximum stress (20%) and Young%26apos;s modulus (35%) of back skin are significantly higher than that of abdomen skin. The Ogden model is selected to closely address the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the skin which can be used in further biomechanical simulations of the skin tissue. The results might have implications not only for understanding of the mechanical behavior of skin tissue at different anatomical locations, but also to give an engineering insight for a diversity of disciplines, such as dermatology, cosmetics industry, clinical decision making, and clinical intervention.

  • 出版日期2014-10