Bone as a structural material: how good is it?
As a structural material, bone is not very good; compared to engineering materials such as metal alloys and fibre composites, its mechanical properties are mediocre. In fact, the really amazing thing about bone is that it is able to achieve even these mediocre properties with the ingredients available: hydroxyapatite, collagen and water. Drawing on previous research, and some simple fracture mechanics calculations, we can see how bone optimises the use of these materials in a composite structure which has important features at two different scales: the nanometre scale and the hundred-micron scale.
Taylor
David
D
Trinity Centre Bioengineering Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000502:physiology*; D003094:Collagen; D019245:Compressive Strength / Q000502:physiology; D017886:Durapatite; D005221:Fatigue; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D049329:Nanostructures; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000502:physiology; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D003094:Collagen; D017886:Durapatite