Abstract
The biomechanical response of cartilage to impact loads, both in isolation and in situ on its bone substrate, has been little studied despite the common occurrence of osteoarthritis subsequent to cartilage injury. An instrumented drop tower was used to apply controlled impact loads of different energies to explants of bovine articular cartilage. Results were compared with a conventional slow stress-strain test. The effects of the underlying bone were investigated by progressively shortening a core of bone removed with the cartilage, and by gluing cartilage samples to substrates of different moduli. The maximum dynamic modulus of isolated samples of bovine articular cartilage, at strain rates between 1100 and 1500 s−1, was approximately two orders of magnitude larger than the quasistatic modulus and varied non-linearly with applied stress. When attached to a substrate of higher modulus, increasing the thickness of the substrate increased the effective modulus of the combination until a steady value was achieved. A lower modulus substrate reduced the effective modulus of the combination. Severe impacts resulted in damage to the bone rather than to the cartilage. The modulus of cartilage rises rapidly and non-linearly with strain rate, giving the tissue a remarkable ability to withstand impact loads. The presence of cartilage attenuated the peak force experienced by the bone and spread the impact loading period over a longer time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
H. R. SCHUMACHER, JR. in “Osteoarthritis: diagnosis and surgical management”, Edited by: R. W. Moskowitz, D. S. Howell, V. M. Goldberg and H. J. Mankin (2nd edn. W.B. Saunders Company, Philadephia, 1993), p. 367
L. DAHLBERG, T. FRIDÉN, H. ROOS, M. W. LARK and L. S. LOHMANDER, Brit. J. Rheumatol. 33 (1994) 1107
L. S. LOHMANDER, L. A. HOERRNER, L. DAHLBERG, H. ROOS, S. BJÖRNSSON and M. W. LARK, J. Rheumatol. 20 (1993) 1362
L. S. LOHMANDER, Y. YOSHIHARA, H. ROOS, T. KOBAYASHI, H. YAMADA and M. SHINMEI, J. Rheumatol. 23 (1996) 1765
D. L. BUTLER, S. A. GOLDSTEIN and F. GUILAK, J. Biomech. Eng. Trans. Asme 122 (2000) 570
G. A. ATESHIAN, W. H. WARDEN, J. J. KIM, R. P. GRELSAMER and V. C. MOW, J. Biomech. 30 (1997) 1157
M. FORTIN, J. SOULHAT, A. SHIRAZI-ADL, E. B. HUNZIKER and M. D. BUSCHMANN, J. Biomech. Eng. 122 (2000) 189
J. S. JURVELIN, M. D. BUSCHMANN and E. B. HUNZIKER, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng [H] 217 (2003) 215
M. K. BARKER and B. B. SEEDHOM, Rheumatology (Oxford) 40 (2001) 274
K. A. ATHANASIOU, A. AGARWAL and F. J. DZIDA, J Orthop. Res 12 (1994) 340
G. E. KEMPSON, M. A. FREEMAN and S. A. SWANSON, J Biomech. 4 (1971) 239
M. K. BARKER. “Aspects of articular cartilage response to physiological cyclic loading with special reference to cumulative deformation” (PhD Thesis, University of Leeds, 1997)
G. BERGMANN, G. DEURETZBACHER, M. HELLER, F. GRAICHEN, A. ROHLMANN, J. STRAUSS and G. N. DUDA, J. Biomech. 34 (2001) 859
R. U. REPO and J. B. FINLAY, J. Bone Joint Surg. 59-A (1977) 1068
L. V. BURGIN and R. M. ASPDEN, J. Biomech. 34 (2001) S39
B. M. NIGG and W. HERZOG, in “Biomechanics of the Musculo-Skeletal System” (2 edn. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, England, 1998)
E. L. RADIN, H. G. PARKER, J. W. PUGH, R. S. STEINBERG, I. L. PAUL and R. M. ROSE, J. Biomech. 6 (1973) 51
R. C. THOMPSON, T. R. OEGEMA, J. L. LEWIS and L. WALLACE, J. Bone Joint Surg. 73A (1991) 990
M. T. SERINK, A. NACHEMSON and G. HANSSON, Acta Orthop. Scand. 48 (1977) 250
J. M. DONOHUE, D. BUSS, T. R. OEGEMA and R. C. THOMPSON, J. Bone Joint Surg. 65-A (1983) 948
R. C. HAUT, T. M. IDE and C. E. DE CAMP, J. Biomech. Eng. 117 (1995) 402
O. D. CHRISMAN, I. M. LADENBAUER-BELLIS, M. PANJABI and S. GOELTZ, Clin. Orthop. (1981) 275
J. B. FINLAY and R. U. REPO, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng 25 (1978) 34
J. E. JEFFREY, L. A. THOMPSON and R. M. ASPDEN, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1334 (1997) 223
G. N. DUDA, M. EILERS, L. LOH, J. E. HOFFMAN, M. KAAB and K. SCHASER, Clin. Orthop. (2001) 302
C. T. CHEN, N. BURTON-WURSTER, G. LUST, R. A. BANK and J. M. TEKOPPELE, J. Orthop. Res. 17 (1999) 870
T. FARQUHAR, Y. XIA, K. MANN, J. BERTRAM, N. BURTON-WURSTER, L. W. JELINSKI and G. LUST, J. Orthop. Res. 14 (1996) 417
R. M. ASPDEN, J. E. JEFFREY and L. V. BURGIN, Osteoarthritis Cart. 10 (2002) 588
F. H. DAR and R. M. ASPDEN, Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs. [H], J. Eng. Med. 217 (2003) 341
E. L. RADIN and I. L. PAUL, Clin. Orthop. 78 (1971) 342
E. L. RADIN and R. M. ROSE, Clin. Orthop. 213 (1986) 34
C. COOPER, P. L. COOK, C. OSMOND and M. I. D. CAWLEY, Ann. Rheum. Dis. 50 (1991) 540
J. DEQUEKER, J. AERSSENS and F. P. LUYTEN, Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 15 (2003) 426
R. J. LEWIS, A. K. MACFARLAND, S. ANANDAVIJAYAN and R. M. ASPDEN, Osteoarthritis Cart. 6 (1998) 383
J. E. JEFFREY, D. W. GREGORY and R. M. ASPDEN, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 322 (1995) 87
R. M. ASPDEN, in “Bone Research Protocols”, Edited by: M. H. Helfrich and S. H. Ralston (Human Press Inc, Totowa, New Jersey, 2003), p. 369
L. V. BURGIN and R. M. ASPDEN, Med Eng Phys. 29 (2007) 525
W. J. STRONGE, in “Impact Mechanics” (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000)
S. PARK, C. T. HUNG and G. A. ATESHIAN, Osteoarthritis Cart. 12 (2004) 65
A. OLOYEDE, R. FLACHSMANN and N. D. BROOM, Connect. Tissue Res. 27 (1992) 211
R. M. ASPDEN and D. W. L. HUKINS, Proc. R Soc. Lond. B212 (1981) 299
R. M. ASPDEN, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B-258 (1994) 195
A. ODGAARD and F. LINDE, J. Biomech. 24 (1991) 691
Acknowledgments
We thank the Arthritis Research Campaign for funding these studies (grant A0542) and the staff at Macintosh Donald, Portlethen, for kindly providing bovine forelimbs.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burgin, L.V., Aspden, R.M. Impact testing to determine the mechanical properties of articular cartilage in isolation and on bone. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 19, 703–711 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-007-3187-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-007-3187-2