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Constitutive Modeling of Rate-Dependent Stress–Strain Behavior of Human Liver in Blunt Impact Loading

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Abstract

An understanding of the mechanical deformation behavior of the liver under high strain rate loading conditions could aid in the development of vehicle safety measures to reduce the occurrence of blunt liver injury. The purpose of this study was to develop a constitutive model of the stress–strain behavior of the human liver in blunt impact loading. Experimental stress and strain data was obtained from impact tests of 12 unembalmed human livers using a drop tower technique. A constitutive model previously developed for finite strain behavior of amorphous polymers was adapted to model the observed liver behavior. The elements of the model include a nonlinear spring in parallel with a linear spring and nonlinear dashpot. The model captures three features of liver stress–strain behavior in impact loading: (1) relatively stiff initial modulus, (2) rate-dependent yield or rollover to viscous “flow” behavior, and (3) strain hardening at large strains. Six material properties were used to define the constitutive model. This study represents a novel application of polymer mechanics concepts to understand the rate-dependent large strain behavior of human liver tissue under high strain rate loading. Applications of this research include finite element simulations of injury-producing liver or abdominal impact events.

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Notes

  1. Inertial compensation of the force measurements is described in Sparks et al. 28

  2. For simplicity, if one assumes a uniform stress distribution across the loaded surface of the liver at each instant during the impact event, then the isolated load cell force divided by load cell cross-sectional area represents the nominal applied stress, averaged across the organ. See Melvin et al.,18 Galle et al.,12 and Miller.19

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Acknowledgments

The liver impact experiments were sponsored by NHTSA Contract No. DTNH22-03-D-08000.28 This research was reviewed and approved by the Ohio State University Biomedical Sciences Human Subjects Review Committee and otherwise conducted in compliance with applicable NHTSA requirements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 270 Bevis Hall, 1080 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Jessica L. Sparks

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Jessica L. Sparks

  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, The Ohio State University, E310 Scott Laboratory, 201 W. 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Rebecca B. Dupaix

Authors
  1. Jessica L. Sparks
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  2. Rebecca B. Dupaix
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Correspondence to Jessica L. Sparks.

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This research was conducted at the Ohio State University.

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Sparks, J.L., Dupaix, R.B. Constitutive Modeling of Rate-Dependent Stress–Strain Behavior of Human Liver in Blunt Impact Loading. Ann Biomed Eng 36, 1883–1892 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9555-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9555-3

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