Publication Date
2011
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Tarun Goswami (Advisor), Michael Herbenick (Committee Member), Chandler A. Phillips (Committee Member), David B. Reynolds (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr)
Abstract
Cortical bone is a porous structure. The presence of these pores creates the possibility of a local overstressed area that has the likelihood of premature failure. Some failure modes of the vertebral endplates, for example subsidence which occurs at rates as high as 77 percent, can be better predicted with further understanding of failure mechanisms and the ability to predict those mechanisms. A probabilistic assessment of the pore size and its contribution to the fracture toughness has not been investigated in the cortical shell of the vertebral endplates. This research develops a probabilistic model that has the ability to determine the fracture toughness of a deterministic cortical bone sample versus the probability of exceeding the crack length that causes failure. Also the model can compare the crack size limit to the thickness of cortical bone present. The work presented is a novel approach to determining probabilistic fracture toughness of vertebral cortical bone.
Page Count
111
Department or Program
Department of Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2011
Copyright
Copyright 2011, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
