Quasi-brittle Fracture Mechanics of Human Cortical Bone: Implications to Bone Health

Abstract

Human bone fracture behavior and toughness are of interest to both the engineering and clinical orthopedic communities as new treatments for bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, are developed. Much of the work on bone fracture has used linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) or the J-integral. These works indicate that bone has a large resistance to fracture that declines with age. However, there is large variability among current studies in results, specimen size, donor tissue demographics, and experimental methods. Here, a quasi-brittle fracture mechanics framework is introduced to evaluate cortical bone fracture, supported by in-situ loading and 3D imaging. Quasi-brittle fracture mechanics can provide insights into the behavior of cortical bone beyond LEFM approaches as we introduce measurements across multiple length scales into the fracture characterization of bone. Quasi-brittle fracture mechanics allows tools for further development of treatments to address both bone quantity and bone quality.