External bone remodeling through boundary elements and damage mechanics

The most recent advances in external bone remodeling are shown using strain energy density (SED) and damage mechanics variables as stimulus functions. The Boundary Element Method (BEM) is used to obtain the tractions and displacements in each iteration. In this paper it is assumed that the level of damage and the strain energy near the periosteum and endosteum control the external bone remodeling response in the cortical of long bones. The boundary is modified as a function of time and the numerical analysis is solved through the method before mentioned for each variation of the boundary coordinates, then the geometry is evaluated and adapted. Smoothing techniques are used (P-spline surfaces) to prevent sudden variations in the boundary that may hinder a solution convergence. To validate this model a numerical example is shown with previously validated experimental data from other authors. (c) 2006 IMACS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.