The mechanical behaviour of the intervertebral disc is viscoelastic and anisotropic where the disc exhibits strain-rate and loading direction dependence. Theoretical constitutive viscoelastic models have been developed to describe the mechanical behaviour of biological tissues, including the disc, however previous research on the disc has mainly focussed on axial compression loading during creep or stress relaxation. Given that the disc is viscoelastic and anisotropic, there is a need to examine the ability of these constitutive models to predict both the dynamic (i.e., strain-rate dependence) and transient (i.e., creep and stress relaxation) behaviours in all six degrees of freedom (6DOF). The models will be fitted/predicted against an extensive experimental dataset of 6DOF dynamic and transient properties. Through the application of these models, a deeper understanding of disc function will be developed, which will be used to develop and validate computational models.
Dr Hayden Tronnolone
Solid mechanics, constitutive models, mathematics
