Modeling the Viscoplastic Behavior of Biocompatible Materials using a Matlab-GUI based simulation tool
Objective
Modeling the deformation behavior of polymers engineered to be used in total knee and hip replacement joints requires having mathematical models that can accurately capture deformation characteristics in various test conditions. The aim of this exercise is to introduce a constitutive material model that can be executed in Matlab. The exercise entails an investigation of how model parameters affect the output, leading to an understanding of how material models can be tuned using experimental data. The predictive capability of such a model is useful for simulating the deformation of physical parts without iterative experimentation.
Educational Outcomes
This activity has been designed to:
- Provide an introduction to the use of a mathematical package such as Matlab for creating a simulation/analysis tool.
- Augment a theoretical treatment of deformation mechanisms with an experiment based approach.
- Demonstrate the mechanical properties of two polymers used as bearing surfaces in total knee and hip joints.