In this present study, the stress-strain behavior of the Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is studied under uniaxial loads applied with various strain rates. Tensile testing of the human ACL samples requires state of the art test facilities. Furthermore, difficulty in finding human ligament for testing purpose results in very limited archival data. Nominal Stress vs. deformation gradient plots for different strain rates, as found in literature, is used to model the material behavior either as a hyperelastic or as a viscoelastic material. The well-known five parameter Mooney-Rivlin constitutivemodel for hyperelastic material and the Prony Series model for viscoelastic material are used and the objective of the analyses comprises of determining the model constants and their variation-trend with strain rates for the Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) material using the non-linear curve fitting tool. The relationship between the model constants and strain rate, using the Hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin model, has been obtained. The variation of the values of each coefficient with strain rates, obtained using Hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin model are then plotted and variation of the values with strain rates are obtained for all the model constants. These plots are again fitted using the software package MATLAB and a power law relationship between the model constants and strain rates is obtained for each constant. The obtained material model for Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) material can be implemented in any commercial finite element software package for stress analysis.

1.
S.
Bollen
. “
Epidemiology of knee injuries: diagnosis and triage
”.
British Journal of Sports Medicine
34
,
227
228
(
2000
).
2.
Tabatha Jordan
Savage
. “
Finite element analysis and modeling of the anterior cruciate ligament in the human knee
”. Thesis submitted to the
faculty of the college of engineering and computer science, Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL
, December
2014
.
3.
Raffaella
De Vita
. “
Structural constitutive models for knee ligaments
”.
School of Engineering. University of Pittsburgh
,
2005
.
4.
Yang
Liu
,
H.S
Ramanath
,
Dong-A
Wang
. “
Tendon tissue engineering using scaffold enhancing strategies
”.
Trends In Biotechnology
26
,
201
209
(
2008
).
5.
C.
Hurschler
,
P. P.
Provenzano
, and
R.
Vanderby
, Jr.
Scanning electron microscopic characterization of healing and normal rat ligament microstructure under slack and loaded conditions
”.
Connective Tissue Research
44
,
59
68
(
2003
).
6.
A.
Viidik
and
R.
Ekholm
. “
Light and electron microscopic studies of collagen fibers understrain
”.
Z AnatEntwicklGesch
127
,
154
164
, (
1968
).
7.
K. A.
Hansen
,
J. A.
Weiss
, and
J. K.
Barton
. “
Recruitment of tendon crimp with applied tensile strain
”.
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
124
,
72
77
(
2002
).
8.
Kennedy
,
J.C.
,
Hawkins
,
R.J.
,
Willis
,
R.B.
,
Danylchuk
,
K.D.
Tensions studies of human knee ligaments
”.
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
58
,
350
355
(
1976
).
9.
Haut
,
R.C.
,
1983
. “
Age-dependent influence of strain rate on the tensilefailure of rat-tail tendon
”.
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
105
,
296
299
.
10.
Ticker
,
J.B.
,
Bigliani
,
L.U.
,
Soslowsky
,
L.J.
,
Pawluk
,
R.J.
,
Flatow
,
E.L.
Mow
,
V.C.
,
1996
. “
Inferior glenohumeral ligament: geometric andstrain-rate dependent properties
”.
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
5
, pp
269
279
.
11.
D.P.
Pioletti
,
L.R.
Rakotomanana
,
J.F.
Benvenuti
,
P.F.
Leyvraz
. “
Viscoelastic constitutive law in large deformations: application to human knee ligaments and tendons
”.
Journal of Biomechanics
31
(
1998
)
753
757
12.
Nusrat J
Chhanda
. “3D viscoelastic model for underfill material behavior”.
NSF Center for Advanced Vehicle and Extreme Environment Electronics
.
Auburn University
.
13.
Giovanni
Berselli
,
Rocco
Vertechy
,
Marcello
Pellicciari
and
Gabriele
Vassura
(
2011
). “
Hyperelastic Modeling of Rubber-Like Photopolymers for Additive Manufacturing Processes, Rapid Prototyping Technology – Principles and Functional Requirements
”.
Dr.
M.
Hoque
(Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-970-7
14.
E.
Peña
,
B.
Calvo
,
M.A.
Martínez
,
M.
Doblaré
. “
An anisotropic visco-hyperelastic model for ligaments at finite strains. Formulation and computational aspects
”.
International Journal of Solids and Structures
Volume
44
, Issues
3–4
, February
2007
, Pages
760
778
.
15.
Nowalk
,
M.D.
,
Logan
,
S.E.
,
1991
. “
Distinguishing biomechanical propertiesof intrinsic and extrinsic human wrist ligaments
”.
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
113
,
85
93
.
16.
Chiba
,
M.
,
Komatsu
,
K.
,
1993
. “
Mechanical responses of the periodontal ligament in the transverse section of the rat mandibular incisor at various velocities of loading in vitro
”.
Journal of Biomechanics
26
,
561
570
.
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.