Understanding vertebral fracture is important in order to reduce fracture risk. Previous studies have used FE to investigate mechanical behaviour, typically using a linear material response. This study aimed to establish a novel model that could represent the plastic behaviour leading to fracture. Porcine vertebrae were mCT scanned and they were loaded to failure in a material test machine (Instron 5965). The specimens were then rescanned. From the first scan, specimen specific FE models were created (ScanIP, Simpleware, UK). Mesh convergence was studied and tetrahedral elements with an approximate element size of 0.7 were used for computational simulations. The relationship between greyscale values (GS) and Young's modulus (E) was optimised to match the experimental load displacement data using Ansys. Further, a plastic material response was modelled.Background
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