bone

Bones not only support and protect the various organs of our body but provide structure and enable mobility making them the most important structural materials in the human body. While aging, diet and health are known to significantly affect the structural integrity and fracture resistance of bone, fatigue, a significantly more important loading condition, is rarely studied.

Bones generate electricity under pressure, and this electromechanical behavior is thought to be essential for bone's self-repair and remodeling properties. The origin of this response is attributed to the piezoelectricity of collagen, which is the main structural protein of bones. In theory, however, any material can also generate voltages in response to strain gradients, thanks to the property known as flexoelectricity.

We would be pleased to have a contribution from you or from one of the members of your group among the presentations of the symposium entitled

COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS OF CELLS TISSUES  AND BIOMATERIALS

organized within the joint World Congress on Computational Mechanics and European Conference on Computational Mechanics (http://www.wccm-eccm-ecfd2014.org/frontal/default.asp )

to be held on 20-25 July 2014 in Barcelona (Spain).

Dear colleagues,

I kindly ask for advice on the following problem:

I simulate the uniaxial compression of a heterogeneous cylinder representing bone. Thus, it is not the visible solid exterior rim of the bone, but represents a porous structure within the bone, so-called trabecular bone, see the figure underneath.

The simulation is done in ABAQUS. The sample contains 164175 elements of type C3D4. The heterogeneous, porous structure makes it impossible to use axisymmmetric elements. The constitutive behavior is ELASTIC.

The paramount role of mechanics in life has recently been the center of attention of many researchers. This special issue will be focusing on the role of mechanics in the life of cells and tissues and their interactions with biomaterials. Original research and review papers are solicited for review and publication in the journal Mechanical Sciences . Mechanical Sciences is an academic open-access journal sponsored by the Library of Delft University of Technology and The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

Call for Abstracts (Deadline: December 15, 2011)

As a part of ECCOMAS 2012 (European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering)

Submit your Abstract (Choose mini-symposium MS114)

Top candidates are sought for a collaborative research project between Dr. Sandra Shefelbine (Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London) and Dr. Markus Buehler (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).  This project will use molecular modelling techniques and associated experimental methods to explore the collagen-apatite interface in bone.