Unconfined compression of hydrated viscoelastic tissues: A biphasic poroviscoelastic analysis

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mak, Arthur F.

Affiliations: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Note: [] Accepted by: Editor M. Litt

Abstract: A biphasic poroviscoelastic theory was used to analyze the unconfined compression creep and stress relaxation of a hydrated viscoelastic tissue. The intrinsic shear properties of the tissue matrix was described by an integral-type viscoelastic constitutive law while the intrinsic bulk property of the matrix was assumed to be linearly elastic. Parametric data were presented to show how the two major energy dissipative mechanisms, namely the interstitial fluid flow and the intrinsic matrix viscoelasticity, may each contribute to the apparent viscoelastic behavior of the whole tissue under unconfined compression. The hydraulic permeability of the tissue was found to enter in only as a scaling factor for time.

Keywords: Soft Tissues, Hydration, Biphasic Theory, Poroviscoelasticity

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1986-23406

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 371-383, 1986