A mathematical model to describe the nonlinear elastic properties of the gastrocnemius tendon of chickens.
A phenomenological model was developed to describe the nonlinear elastic behavior of the avian gastrocnemius tendon. Quasistatic uniaxial tensile tests were used to apply a deformation and resulting load on the tendon at a deformation rate of 5 mm/min. Plots of deformation versus load indicated a nonlinear loading response. By calculating engineering stress and engineering strain, the experimental data were normalized for tendon shape. The elastic response was determined from stress-strain curves and was found to vary with engineering strain. The response to the applied engineering strain could best be described by a mathematical model that combined a linear function and a nonlinear function. Three parameters in the model were developed to represent the nonlinear elastic behavior of the tendon, thereby allowing analysis of elasticity without prior knowledge of engineering strain. This procedure reduced the amount of data needed for the statistical analysis of nonlinear elasticity.
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Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Georgia, Athens 30604.
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D004548:Elasticity; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D013710:Tendons / Q000502:physiology*; D013848:Thigh