Effect of micro-morphology of cortical bone tissue on fracture toughness and crack propagation

Specific features of crack propagation in human cortical bone depend on many factors; bone micro-morphology is one of the main features. A bone compact-tension simulation model with zero-thickness cohesive element is employed in this study to investigate the effect of micro-morphology of cortical bone on fracture toughness and crack propagation. Various groups of bone sample from young, senior, diseased and treated patients were studied. It was found that the young group has the best performance in terms of fracture resistance, with the initiation fracture toughness (K0) and slope of 1.45 MPa(m)1/2 and 1.16 mpa(m)1/2/mm, respectively. The cracks in this group propagate mostly along the cement line to protect osteons from crack penetration. Copyright (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.