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Nanoindentation response of cortical bone: dependency of subsurface voids

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Abstract

Nanoindentation test results in the axial direction of mouse femurs were the basis for the current study. Although the majority of the nanoindentation curves showed a reasonable consistency, some curves showed a significantly softer response. Detailed investigation, using focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy, provided that the softer response is due to subsurface cavities such as lacunae. Finite element models were developed to simulate the nanoindentation of mice femur cortical bone samples with and without the incorporation of a single lacuna underneath the bone surface. Based on the material parameters determined for the cavity-free tissue, numerical simulations were run for different cases of cavity size, shape, and location. Spherical cavities with different size were considered at different distances from the surface. The results showed that subsurface cavities can lead to 50% higher indentation compared to an indentation in cavity-free material. Continuing with ellipsoidal cavities with the center located on the load axis, the results showed a nonlinear dependency of ellipsoid shape. Hence, the shape of the cavity is important for the nanoindentation response. The influence of horizontal and vertical offsets of spherical cavities was studied, thereby the results showed that an increasing horizontal offset caused a decreasing influence of the vertical distance from the surface. In perspective, the present study provides information that may help to get deeper knowledge of nanoindentation load–displacement mechanism taking place in samples with subsurface cavities.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to assoc. prof. Jianying He for the assistance on nanoindentation testing. The support from Supercomputer resources at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is provided by NOTUR.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

    Masoud Ramezanzadehkoldeh & Bjørn Skallerud

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  1. Masoud Ramezanzadehkoldeh
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  2. Bjørn Skallerud
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Correspondence to Bjørn Skallerud.

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Ramezanzadehkoldeh, M., Skallerud, B. Nanoindentation response of cortical bone: dependency of subsurface voids. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 16, 1599–1612 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-017-0907-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-017-0907-5

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