BIOMECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF BOVINE SKIN: AN EXPERIMENT-THEORY INTEGRATION AND FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION

This paper for the first time attempts to establish the biomechanical characteristics of bovine skin via experiment-theory integration and finite element simulation. 30 specimens prepared from fresh slaughtered bovine were uniaxially stretched in-vitro using tensile tests machine. The experimental raw data are then input into a Matlab programme, which quantified the hyperelastic parameters based on Ogden constitutive equation. It is found that the Ogden coefficient and exponent for bovine skin are mu = 0.017 MPa and a = 11.049 respectively. For comparison of results, the quantified Ogden parameters are then input into a simple but robust finite element model, which is developed to replicate the experimental setup and simulate the deformation of the bovine skin. Results from experiment-theory integration and finite element simulation are compared. It is found that the stress-stretch curves are close to one another. The results and finding prove that the current study is significant and has contributed to knowledge enhancement about the deformation behaviour of bovine skin.