Solid Mechanics of Biological Materials

Catalog description

This course presents advanced topics in solid mechanics that are important for understanding the behavior and function of biological materials, including cardiovascular tissues (e.g., blood vessels, myocardium, epicardium), musculoskeletal tissues (e.g., tendon, bone, articular cartilage), synthetic biomaterials (e.g., hydrogels, composites), and cells. The course will begin with a review of basic concepts in mechanics and mathematics, followed by a detailed discussion of the principles of stress and strain for infinitesimal deformations. Since most biological materials undergo large deformation, the limits of our definitions for stress and strain will be discussed along with alternative methods if these limits are violated. Constitutive equations for linear elastic homogenous isotropic, orthotropic, and transversely isotropic materials will be presented. These concepts will then be applied to various mechanics problems that are relevant to biology, physiology, and medicine. The second half of the course will cover fiber-reinforced composite materials, which are relevant for both engineering prostheses as well as understanding the behavior of numerous native biological materials (e.g., tendon, epicardium, intervertebral disc). The course will conclude with a brief introduction to poroelasticity and its role in the function of articular cartilage and hydrogels.