ECCOMAS 2024

Finite Cell Method simulation of bone tissues: complexity in internal and external morphologies

  • Shahmohammadi, Mohammad Amin (Hamburg University of Technology)
  • Fiedler, Imke (University Medical Center Hamburg)
  • Busse, Björn (University Medical Center Hamburg)
  • Düster, Alexander (Hamburg University of Technology)

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In this study the target is to introduce an applicable numerical procedure to simulate bone tissues. This study focuses on the complexity of the bone morphology which can be considered in two ways: complexity in internal and external morphologies. The complicated internal morphology can be seen in porous tissues such as trabecular bone which should be investigated on the micro-scale. On the contrary, the complex external morphology is investigated on the macro-scale like a human bone. By considering the previous related studies [1-3] it is evident that there are several challenges in employing standard finite element (FE) techniques for analysis of such biomechanical structures. This is mainly due to the time-consuming generation of geometry-conforming meshes. Therefore, the Finite Cell Method (FCM) is an applicable alternative because it is based on the concept of the fictitious domain technique in which underlying meshes do not need to conform to the boundary of the domain. In order to show the application of FCM in simulating such biomechanical structures, two important specimens are considered which already have been experimentally tested. The first specimen is related to a cylindrical specimen taken from human vertebra and the second one is related to a human bone. Since the considered specimens respectively consist of complex internal and external morphologies, generating a FE mesh is rather complicated. So, the application of the FCM can be justified by overcoming the mentioned shortcomings of FE methods for these problems. By utilizing FCM, simulation of the mentioned biomechanical specimens using higher order cells of regular shapes is possible where the geometry is taken care of through the numerical integration. The input for the present numerical tool is given by a high-resolution microCT scan for the cylindrical specimen taken from human vertebra and quantitative computer tomography scans (qCT-scan) for the human bone. The outcome of the FCM will be compared to results obtained by mechanical testing of the specimen.