Influence of interstitial bone microcracks on strain-induced fluid flow.
It is well known that microcracks act as a stimulus for bone remodelling, initiating resorption by osteoclasts and new bone formation by osteoblasts. Moreover, microcracks are likely to alter the fluid flow and convective transport through the bone tissue. This paper proposes a quantitative evaluation of the strain-induced interstitial fluid velocities developing in osteons in presence of a microcrack in the interstitial bone tissue. Based on Biot theory in the low-frequency range, a poroelastic model is carried out to study the hydro-mechanical behaviour of cracked osteonal tissue. The finite element results show that the presence of a microcrack in the interstitial osteonal tissue may drastically reduce the fluid velocity inside the neighbouring osteons. This fluid inactive zone inside osteons can cover up to 10% of their surface. Consequently, the fluid environment of bone mechano-sensitive cells is locally modified.
Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation Multi Echelle, MSME UMR 8208 CNRS, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010 Créteil cedex, France. vu-hieu.nguyen@univ-paris-est.fr
Vu-Hieu
VH
Nguyen
Thibault
T
Lemaire
Salah
S
Naili
D001857:Bone Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D016723:Bone Remodeling / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000502:physiology*; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000502:physiology*; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006253:Haversian System / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D012212:Rheology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical