An Investigation of the Microscopic Mechanism of Fracture and Healing Processes in Cortical Bone

Abstract

A nonlocal nonlinear multiscale field theory is briefly introduced in this paper. The theory is then reduced to a nonlocal linear elastic theory. A meshfree method is applied to solve the governing equation. The entire process of microcrack propagation in the cortical bone, including the propagation of microcrack toward the osteon, around the osteon, and out of the osteon, is simulated. The results show that the cement line between the osteanal bone and the interstitial bone serves as a protective barrier for the Haversian canal. We also observed that, with healing process incorporated in the simulation, cement line serves as a barrier for the microcracks propagation.