Modeling of the cat eardrum as a thin shell using the finite-element method.
A finite-element model of the cat eardrum is presented which includes the effects of the three-dimensional curved conical shape of the drum. The model is valid at low frequencies (below 1-2 kHz) and within the range of linear vibration amplitudes. The material properties used are based on a review of the literature. The critical material parameters are the stiffness (2 times 10(8) dyn cm(-2)) and thickness (40 micrometer) of the pars tensa. The model exhibits a vibration pattern and amplitude very similar to those observed experimentally using laser holography. A number of parameters are varied in order to study their relative importance in the model.
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002415:Cats; D008433:Mathematics; D008722:Methods; D008954:Models, Biological; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000502:physiology*