title: A three-dimensional chemo-mechanical continuum model for smooth muscle contraction.
abstract: Based on two fields, namely the placement and the calcium concentration, a chemo-mechanically coupled three-dimensional model, describing the contractile behaviour of smooth muscles, is presented by means of a strain energy function. The strain energy function (Schmitz and Böl, 2011) is additively decomposed into a passive part, relating to elastin and collagen, and an active calcium-driven part related to the chemical contraction of the smooth muscle cells. For the description of the calcium phase the four state cross-bridge model of Hai and Murphy (Hai and Murphy, 1988) has been implemented into the finite element method. Beside three-dimensional illustrative boundary-value problems demonstrating the features of the presented modelling concept, simulations on an idealised artery document the applicability of the model to more realistic geometries.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Solid Mechanics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. m.boel@tu-bs.de
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böl
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: Götz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Siebert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008297:Male; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013552:Swine; D014661:Vasoconstriction
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium