A computational two-scale approach to cancellous bone remodelling

Steinmann P, Schmidt I, Pivonka P, Papastavrou A (2024)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 13

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1186/s40323-024-00267-1

Abstract

We propose a novel two-scale (meso-macro-scale) approach to computationally capture cancellous bone remodelling allowing for efficient and effective numerical implementation. Therein, the macro-scale is governed by the well-established kinematics and kinetics of one-scale continuum bone remodelling. However, the constitutive behaviour is not postulated phenomenologically at the macro-scale, but rather follows from the meso-scale. There, for the sake of computational efficiency, the trabecular architecture is idealised as a truss network with the cross-sectional area of the trabeculae adapting to mechanical loading. Then, the meso- and the macro-scale are coupled through up- and down-scaling. Computational results on benchmark problems from bio-mechanics demonstrate that the proposed two-scale approach is effective from a modelling perspective and efficient from a computational perspective. In particular, it automatically captures anisotropy resulting from the irregular trabecular architecture at the meso-scale, and, most importantly, enables the direct investigation of different trabecular structures at the meso-scale, thereby serving as a virtual “magnifiying glass”. As an outlook, the proposed two-scale approach to cancellous bone remodelling provides an excellent launch pad for further extension, e.g., by considering more complex trabecular architectures and/or through inclusion of micro-scale bone cellular activities.

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APA:

Steinmann, P., Schmidt, I., Pivonka, P., & Papastavrou, A. (2024). A computational two-scale approach to cancellous bone remodelling. Advanced Modeling and Simulation in Engineering Sciences, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40323-024-00267-1

MLA:

Steinmann, Paul, et al. "A computational two-scale approach to cancellous bone remodelling." Advanced Modeling and Simulation in Engineering Sciences 11.1 (2024).

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