Investigation of the optimal collagen fibre orientation in human iliac arteries

Qi, N., Gao, H. , Ogden, R. W. , Hill, N. A. , Holzapfel, G. A., Han, H. and Luo, X. (2015) Investigation of the optimal collagen fibre orientation in human iliac arteries. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 52, pp. 108-119. (doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2015.06.011) (PMID:26195342)

Abstract

The distribution of collagen fibres plays a significant role in the mechanical behaviour of artery walls. Experimental data show that in most artery wall layers there are two (or more) in-plane symmetrically disposed families of fibres. However, a recent investigation revealed that some artery wall layers have only one preferred fibre direction, notably in the medial layer of human common iliac arteries. This paper aims to provide a possible explanation for this intriguing phenomenon. An invariant-based constitutive model is utilized to characterize the mechanical behaviour of tissues. We then use three different hypotheses to determine the ‘optimal fibre angle’ in an iliac artery model. All three hypotheses lead to the same result that the optimal fibre angle in the medial layer of the iliac artery is close to the circumferential direction. The axial pre-stretch, in particular, is found to play an essential role in determining the optimal fibre angle.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Luo, Professor Xiaoyu and Hill, Professor Nicholas and Gao, Dr Hao and Ogden, Professor Raymond and Holzapfel, Professor Gerhard
• Authors: Qi, N., Gao, H., Ogden, R. W., Hill, N. A., Holzapfel, G. A., Han, H., and Luo, X.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Mathematics
• Journal Name: Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1751-6161
• ISSN (Online): 1878-0180
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
58047	1	Finite element-immersed boundary methods and its applications to mitral valves	Xiaoyu Luo	Edinburgh Mathematical Society (EMS)	R Archbold 08/0	M&S - MATHEMATICS
56011	1	Finite element-immersed boundary method and its application to mitral valves	Xiaoyu Luo	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/I029990/1	M&S - MATHEMATICS