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Effects of fatigue induced damage on the longitudinal fracture resistance of cortical bone

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Abstract

As a composite material, cortical bone accumulates fatigue microdamage through the repetitive loading of everyday activity (e.g. walking). The accumulation of fatigue microdamage is thought to contribute to the occurrence of fragility fractures in older people. Therefore it is beneficial to understand the relationship between microcrack accumulation and the fracture resistance of cortical bone. Twenty longitudinally orientated compact tension fracture specimens were machined from a single bovine femur, ten specimens were assigned to both the control and fatigue damaged groups. The damaged group underwent a fatigue loading protocol to induce microdamage which was assessed via fluorescent microscopy. Following fatigue loading, non-linear fracture resistance tests were undertaken on both the control and damaged groups using the J-integral method. The interaction of the crack path with the fatigue induced damage and inherent toughening mechanisms were then observed using fluorescent microscopy. The results of this study show that fatigue induced damage reduces the initiation toughness of cortical bone and the growth toughness within the damage zone by three distinct mechanisms of fatigue–fracture interaction. Further analysis of the J-integral fracture resistance showed both the elastic and plastic component were reduced in the damaged group. For the elastic component this was attributed to a decreased number of ligament bridges in the crack wake while for the plastic component this was attributed to the presence of pre-existing fatigue microcracks preventing energy absorption by the formation of new microcracks.

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Acknowledgments

In kind support for this research was provided by the Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, SA Pathology and the School of Medical Science, The University of Adelaide.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

    Lloyd Fletcher & John Codrington

  2. Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, SA Pathology and Hanson Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    John Codrington & Ian Parkinson

  3. Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Ian Parkinson

Authors
  1. Lloyd Fletcher
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  2. John Codrington
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  3. Ian Parkinson
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Correspondence to Lloyd Fletcher.

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Fletcher, L., Codrington, J. & Parkinson, I. Effects of fatigue induced damage on the longitudinal fracture resistance of cortical bone. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 25, 1661–1670 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-014-5213-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-014-5213-5

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