title: Viscoelastic properties of canine temporomandibular joint disc in compressive load-relaxation.
abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the mechanical properties and load-relaxation of these discs in compression. Eight discs were used for the experiments. Compression was applied to specimens up to the specified strain, and a series of load-relaxation tests was conducted on each specimen from 0.25% strain to 2.0% strain with 0.25% intervals. The load-relaxation was monitored over a period of 2 min. The elastic moduli of the canine articular discs were 30.9 and 15.8 MPa at t = 0 and 120 sec, respectively, and the discs exhibited near-linear elastic characteristics at each time within a 2-min period. At all strains, the time-dependent load-relaxation curves showed that the load decreased markedly for the initial 30 sec, after which it levelled off after 120 sec with a steady nonzero level. This relaxation feature can be well represented by Kelvin's model. It is concluded that the canine temporomandibular joint disc can be represented as a linear viscoelastic material, and that it plays an important part as a stress absorber under compression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Hiroshima University School of Dentistry, Japan. etanaka@ipc.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyawaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004285:Dogs; D004548:Elasticity; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007700:Kinetics; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000502:physiology*; D014783:Viscosity; D016474:Weight-Bearing