title: A mechanistic study for strain rate sensitivity of rabbit patellar tendon.
abstract: The ultrastructural mechanism for strain rate sensitivity of collagenous tissue has not been well studied at the collagen fibril level. Our objective is to reveal the mechanistic contribution of tendon's key structural component to strain rate sensitivity. We have investigated the structure of the collagen fibril undergoing tension at different strain rates. Tendon fascicles were pulled and fixed within the linear region (12% local tissue strain) at multiple strain rates. Although samples were pulled to the same percent elongation, the fibrils were noticed to elongate differently, increasing with strain rate. For the 0.1, 10, and 70%/s strain rates, there were 1.84±3.6%, 5.5±1.9%, and 7.03±2.2% elongations (mean±S.D.), respectively. We concluded that the collagen fibrils underwent significantly greater recruitment (fibril strain relative to global tissue strain) at higher strain rates. A better understanding of tendon mechanisms at lower hierarchical levels would help establish a basis for future development of constitutive models and assist in tissue replacement design.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clemmer
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Horstemeyer
authors.forename: Lakiesha N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003094:Collagen / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008954:Models, Biological; D017847:Patellar Ligament / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011817:Rabbits; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen