Taffetani M.¹, Bertarelli E.^1,2, Gottardi R.^3,4, Raiteri R.⁵, Vena P.^1,2

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.87, No.5, pp. 433-460, 2012, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2012.087.433

Abstract Dynamic nanoindentation is a novel nanomechanical testing that is being increasingly used to characterize the frequency response of viscoelastic materials and of soft hydrated biological tissues at the micrometric and nanometric length scales. This technique is able to provide more information than those obtained by simple indentation; however, its interpretation is still an open issue for complex materials such as the case of anisotropic biological tissues that generally have a high water content. This work presents a numerical model to characterize the frequency response of poro-elastic tissues subjected to harmonic indentation loading with particular regard to the effect of geometrical… More >

V. Sansalone^1,∗, V. Bousson², S. Naili¹, C. Bergot², F. Peyrin³, J.D. Laredo², G. Haïat¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.87, No.5, pp. 387-410, 2012, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2012.087.387

Abstract This paper investigates the effects of the heterogeneous distribution of the Haversian Porosity (HP) and Tissue Mineral Density (TMD) on the elastic coefficients of bone in the human femoral neck. A bone specimen from the inferior femoral neck was obtained from a patient undergoing standard hemiarthroplasty. The specimen was imaged using 3-D synchrotron micro-computed tomography (voxel size of 10.13 mm), leading to the determination of the anatomical distributions of HP and TMD. These experimental data were used to estimate the elastic coefficients of the bone using a three-step homogenization model based on continuum micromechanics: (i) At the tissue scale (characteristic… More >

H.K. Mebatsion¹, P. Verboven¹, Q. T. Ho¹, F. Mendoza¹, B. E. Verlinden², T. A. Nguyen¹, B. M. Nicolaï^1,2

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 1-14, 2006, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2006.014.001

Abstract Modeling plant microstructure is of great interest to food engineers to study and explain material properties related to mass transfer and mechanical deformation. In this paper, a novel ellipse tessellation algorithm to generate a 2D geometrical model of apple tissue is presented. Ellipses were used to quantify the orientation and aspect ratio of cells on a microscopic image. The cell areas and centroids of each cell were also determined by means of a numerical procedure. These characteristic quantities were then described by means of probability density functions. The model tissue geometry was generated from the ellipses, which were truncated when… More >

F. J. Bellomo¹, S. Oller², F. Armero³, L. G. Nallim¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.80, No.1, pp. 1-22, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2011.080.001

Abstract Some of the key factors that regulate growth and remodeling of tissues are fundamentally mechanical. However, it is important to take into account the role of biological availability to generate new tissue together with the stresses and strains in the processes of natural or pathological growth. In this sense, the model presented in this work is oriented to describe growth of vascular tissue under "stress driven growth" considering biological availability of the organism. The general theoretical framework is given by a kinematic formulation in large strain combined with the thermodynamic basis of open systems. The formulation uses a multiplicative decomposition… More >

Jui-Hsun Ni, Cheng-Chi Chang, Yue-Tzu Yang, Cha’o-Kung Chen¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.72, No.1, pp. 37-52, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2011.072.037

Abstract The hybrid method, which combines differential transformation and finite difference approximation techniques, is utilized to solve hyperbolic-type heat conduction (bio-heat) problems in one dimension. To capture the thermal behavior in a living tissue subjected to constant or exponential surface heating with the thermal wave model of bio-heat transfer, the relaxation time and the heat wave, which propagates in a direction perpendicular to the skin surface, are considered. The results show that the hybrid method can be used to solve hyperbolic heat conduction problems accurately. More >

H.K. Mebatsion^1,2, P. Verboven¹, P. T. Jancsók¹, Q.T. Ho¹, B.E. Verlinden³, B.M. Nicolaï^1,3

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.29, No.3, pp. 137-150, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.029.137

Abstract Transport processes of gas and moisture are among the most important physiological processes in plant tissue. Microscale transport models based on Navier-Stokes equations provide insight into such processes at the microscopic scale. Due to microscopic complexity, numerical solutions based on the finite element or finite volume methods are mandatory. Therefore, a 3D geometric model of the tissue is essential. In this article, a novel algorithm for geometric reconstruction of 2D slices of synchrotron tomographic images is presented. The boundaries of 2D cells on individual slices were digitized to establish a set of boundary coordinates and the slice index of individual… More >

Marcello Lappa¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 141-152, 2006, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2006.002.141

Abstract Numerical simulations and computer-graphics animation can be used as useful tools to discern the physicochemical environmental factors affecting the surface kinetics of growing biological tissues as well as their relative importance in determining growth. A mathematical formalism for such kinetics is proposed through parametric investigation and validated through focused comparison with experimental results. The study relies on the application of a CFD moving boundary (Volume of Fluid) method specially conceived for the simulation of these problems. In the second part of the analysis the case of two samples hydrodynamically interacting in a rotating bioreactor is considered. The interplay between two… More >

Milica Radisic^1,2, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic³

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 1-16, 2006, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2006.002.001

Abstract To engineer cardiac tissue in vitro with properties approaching those of native tissue, it is necessary to reproduce many of the conditions found in vivo. In particular, cell density must be sufficiently high to enable contractility, which implies a three-dimensional culture with a sufficient oxygen and nutrient supply. In this review, hydrogels and scaffolds that support high cell densities are examined followed by a discussion on the utility of scaffold perfusion to satisfy high oxygen demand of cardiomyocytes and an overview of new bioreactors developed in our laboratory to accomplish this task more simply. More >

B. Obradovic¹, M. Radisic², G. Vunjak-Novakovic³

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.3, pp. 189-202, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.189

Abstract Efficient transport of oxygen is one of the main requirements in tissue engineering systems in order to avoid cell death in the inner tissue regions and support uniform tissue regeneration. In this paper, we review approaches to design of tissue engineering systems with adequate oxygen delivery for cultivation of cartilage and myocardium, two distinctly different tissue types with respect to the tissue structure and oxygen requirements. Mathematical modeling was used to support experimental results and predict oxygen transport within the cultivated tissues and correlate it to the cell response and tissue properties. More >

P. Yu¹, T. S. Lee¹, Y. Zeng¹, H. T. Low²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 235-246, 2005, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2005.001.235

Abstract A numerical model is developed for the investigation of flow field and mass transport in a micro-bioreactor, of working volume below 5 ml, in which medium mixing is generated by a magnetic stirrer-rod rotating on the bottom. The flow-field results show that a recirculation region exists above the stirrer rod and rotates with it; the related fluid mixing is characterized by a circulation coefficient of up to 0.2 which is about five times smaller than that of a one-litre stirred-tank bioreactor. The oxygen transfer coefficient is less than 5 h^-1 which is two orders smaller than that of a 10-litre… More >