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Title: POLYMER DYNAMICS AS A MECHANISTIC MODEL FOR THE FLOW INDEPENDENT VISCOELASTICITY OF CARTILAGE

Author
item Barone, Justin
item FYHRIE, DAVID - HENRY FORD HOSPITAL

Submitted to: Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2002
Publication Date: 10/1/2003
Citation: Barone, J.R., Fyhrie, D.P. 2003. Polymer dynamics as a mechanistic model for the flow independent viscoelasticity of cartilage. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the ASME. 125:578-584.

Interpretive Summary: Cartilage is a polymeric material that exhibits viscoelasticity. Therefore, polymer molecular theories to describe the viscoelastic behavior should be applicable. The most powerful of these theories, Reptation, is used to describe the stress relaxation of cartilage. This has distinct advantages over continuum mechanical models that do not take into account molecular aspects.

Technical Abstract: The initial, rapid, flow independent, apparent stress relaxation of articular cartilage disks deformed by unconfined compressive displacement is shown to be consistent with the theory of polymer dynamics. A relaxation function for polymers based upon a mechanistic model of molecular interaction (reptation) appropriately approximated early, flow independent relaxation of stress. It is argued that the theory of polymer dynamics, with its reliance on mechanistic models of molecular interaction, is an appropriate technique for application to and for the understanding of rapid, flow independent, stress relaxation in cartilage.