Proceedings of the ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition
IMECE2011
NONLINEAR DYNAMIC VISCOELASTIC MODEL FOR OSTEOARTHRITIC
CARTILAGE INDENTATION FORCE
A. Vidal-Lesso
Department of Mechanical Engineering, DICIS-
Universidad de Guanajuato/Instituto Tecnologico
de Celaya
Salamanca/Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
R. Lesso-Arroyo
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto
Tecnologico de Celaya
Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
ABSTRACT
Biomechanical properties and dynamic response of soft
tissues as articular cartilage remains issues for attention.
Currently, linear isotropic models are still used for cartilage
analysis in spite of its viscoelastic nature.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose a nonlinear
viscoelastic model for cartilage indentation that combines the
geometrical parameters and velocity of the indentation test with
the thickness of the sample as well as the mechanical properties
of the tissue changing over time due to its viscoelastic behavior.
Parameters of the indentation test and mechanical properties as
a function of time were performed in Laplace space where the
constitutive equation for viscoelasticity and the convolution
theorem was applied in addition with the Maxwell model and
Hayes et al. model for instantaneous elastic modulus.
Results of the models were compared with experimental
data of indentation tests on osteoarthritic cartilage of a
unicompartmental osteoarthritis cases. The models showed a
strong fit for the axial indentation nonlinear force in the loading
curve (R2=0.992) and a good fit for unloading (R2=0.987),
while an acceptable fit was observed in the relaxation curve
(R2=0.967).
These models may be used to study the mechanical
response of osteoarthritic cartilage to several dynamical and
geometrical test conditions.
November 11-17, 2011, Denver, Colorado, USA
IMECE2011-64387
E. Ledesma-Orozco
Department of Mechanical Engineering, DICIS-
Universidad de Guanajuato
Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico
L. Daza-Benitez
Specialty Medical Unit-IMSS
Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
INTRODUCTION
Joint diseases have become a factor of disability in the
society, thus the study of mechanical behavior of articular
cartilage is necessary to the biomechanical analysis of such
diseases. The indentation is a widely used experimental
technique for materials characterization and several analytical
models and some others using the finite element method have
been reported to reproduce the behavior of materials such as
articular cartilage which shows a viscoelastic behavior which
depends on time and has been considered in several models.
Initially, various analytical models considered a single phase [1-
4] and later two-phases models were developed [5-8]. Both
models consider linear and nonlinear behavior as well as some
models considers a viscohyperelastic [7, 8, 9] or
poroviscoelastic [10, 11] and poroelastic behavior [12].
Some indentation models have been reported with
application to the characterization of viscoelastic materials such
as plastics and other materials [13, 14]. The viscoelastic effect
involves time dependence of the constitutive relations and it
was considered in previous models for cartilage as well as in the
present work.
Moreover, the indentation velocity is a factor that impacts
the mechanical response of viscoelastic materials; this behavior
has been shown in several studies [10, 13, 14] and in the models
presented here.
It is important to note that the models reported in other
studies have been developed and validated in the context of
small deformations, however, in the present work the
deformations applied in the experimental test are about 50%,
1 Copyright 2011 by ASME
thus we explored the capacity of the models presented here to
predict the reaction indentation force when we apply large
strain values in the indentation tests on osteoarthritic cartilage.
METHOD
Indentation test
The experimental data was obtained from indentation tests
carried out in seven female femoral knee specimens of lateral
compartment from patients diagnosed with unicompartmental
osteoarthritis, which come from a population with ages ranging
from 59 to 73 years. The specimens were removed during
surgery for total knee replacement, so it was possible to obtain
the cartilage with subchondral bone of the complete femoral
compartment or condile. The knee specimens were donated by
patients under administrative control of the Mexican Social
Security Institute (IMSS) for scientific and medical research.
The test was performed using an impermeable plane-ended
cylindrical indenter (Fig. 1). It is important to mention that
cartilage indentation was performed following previous similar
testing protocols of several studies [15, 16-18].
Indenter
2a
h Fig. 2: Experimental indentation force values versus time in
Cartilage
Bone
Fig. 1: Schematic indentation test.
The test was done on the complete compartment without
doing any cut to avoid mechanical effects in the indentation
area. Thus, a central point on the surface of each complete
compartment was selected for cartilage test. This point
corresponds to predominant areas of load and wear in tibio-
femoral contact.
The test conditions were a displacement of 0.5 mm was
applied to cartilage in axial direction with a 3 mm diameter
indenter attached to a 500 N load cell of a materials testing
machine (CHATILLON TCD200). The applied constant strain
rate was 0.21 mm/s to achieve 0.5 mm, followed by cartilage
relaxation during 1.5s at the same displacement and finally
unloading (Fig. 2). This strain rate corresponds to a loading
frequency of 0.1 Hz which reproduces the phenomenon created
by the real physiological frequencies in a human body [19-22].
Complete cartilage specimens with subchondral bone were
hydrated regularly to prevent dehydration of cells and
indentation surface during the whole test. Force, time and
displacement parameters were recorded during each test run. It
is important to mention that, a plane-ended cylindrical indenter
was used rather than a hemispherical indenter. The main
distinction between the two different indenter geometries, as
identified by Hale et al. [23] is that with hemispherical
indenters the contact area increases with indentation depth,
which alters the stress distribution. Plane-ended cylindrical
indenters enforce a constant contact area which simplifies the
analysis but a singularity exists at the edge of the contact area,
therefore, the accurate numerical prediction of stresses in this
region is difficult and the result should be check carefully.
loading-relaxation-unloading cycle in the specimens of knees
with unicompartmental osteoarthritis.
Analytical considerations
The Hayes et al. model [18] provides an estimate of the
instantaneous elastic modulus using three parameters of the
indentation test: the indentation force, the indenter diameter and
the depth of penetration; also it takes the thickness of tissue
through the scaling factor proposed by Hayes et al. [18]. Then,
in the context of the Hayes et al. model the applied force or
indentation force can be represented by considering the changes
in parameters over time (see Eq. 1).
2a
P= (t) E(t) (1)
1 2
where P= applied load
E= elastic modulus
= depth of indenter penetration
= Poisson ratio
a= radius of the indenter
= scaling factor of Hayes et al. [18]
2 Copyright 2011 by ASME
To relate the viscoelastic constitutive equation with the Hayes et The elastic modulus variation over time was considered as
al. model, Equation 1 is transformed to the Laplace space (see a first approximation with the Maxwell model, which consists
Eq. 2). of a spring and a dashpot in series (see Fig. 3).

2a
P J(s) = W(s) (2) E
1 2

where J(s)= creep compliance (J=1/E) in Laplace space

W(s)= depth of indenter penetration in Laplace space
Fig. 3: Maxwell model. E, represents spring stiffness and ,
The constitutive equation that was considered for
viscoelasticity is the following represents dashpot viscosity.

t d ( ) The total deformation for this model is the sum of the

(t)
= 0
E(t )
d
d (3) strains. So for the Maxwell model,

d d s d d 1 d
If the roles of stress and strain are interchanged and the = + = + (9)
above arguments repeated, a complementary and useful relation dt dt dt E dt
may be obtained (Eq. 4).
This differential equation can be rewritten in term of the
t d ( ) relaxation time r = E as
(t) J(t )
= d (4)
0 d
d d
E= + (10)
Such integral equations may be manipulated with the dt dt r
Laplace transform. Specifically, Laplace transformation of a
linear integral equation or a linear differential equation converts If we consider a step strain, the relaxation response of the
it into an algebraic equation. Thus, applying the derivative elastic modulus is found to be
theorem and convolution theorem for the Laplace transform to
convert the Eqs. 3 and 4 respectively to t
r
E(t) = E o e (11)
(s)
= sE(s) (5)
(s) where E o = initial elastic modulus

(s) 1 Moreover, since the indenter penetration velocity (V) is

= (6) constant, the variation of the depth of penetration over time can
(s) sJ(s)
be obtained with the constant velocity relation

Here s is the transform variable. By setting these stress- (t) = V t (12)

strain ratios equal, the following relation between the creep
compliance and elastic modulus is found to be
Applying the inverse Laplace transform to the Eq. 8 and the
convolution theorem with the Eqs. 11 and 12, a relation for the
1 indentation force as a function of time is obtained.
E(s)J(s) = (7)
s2
t
r
This relation can be used in Equation 2 to obtain the 2a E o V r e t r + t r + (13)
=P(t) re te r
following relation (1 ) t
2

P(1 2 ) 1
= W(s)E(s) (8) In addition, in the case of the second cycle curve, which
2a s 2
corresponds to the relaxation curve where the applied strain is
constant, Eq. 13 is not valid because it considers the variation
Applying the inverse Laplace transform to the above
of displacement and strain over time so it must be modified to
equation, we can get this equation in the time domain, however,
this case. Thus, considering the application of a constant
the variation in the depth of penetration and the elastic modulus
over time are required.

3 Copyright 2011 by ASME

displacement and Maxwell model as a first approximation, the The fitted curves for specimens 1, 3 and 5 (Fig. 4, 5 and 6)
equation for the variation of the indentation force over time is show several cases of model fitting, where some of them
2a E o t r present a good fit for loading but not for unloading (Fig. 4 and
P(t) = e (14)
(1 2 ) 5), deviating in some cases at the end of the curve. Other results
presented the inverse case, a good fit during unloading but not
These equations represent a nonlinear viscoelastic models for the loading curve (Fig. 6).
for cartilage indentation force over time that combines the
geometrical parameters and velocity of the indentation test with
the thickness of the sample as well as the mechanical properties
of the tissue changing over time due to its viscoelastic behavior.
Thus, the equation 13 and 14 were used to reproduce the
behavior of the loading-relaxation-unloading curve of the cycle
applied to the knee specimens and to find the correlation
between the proposed model and the experimental values.
The parameters used and calculated in equations 13 and 14,
for comparison with experimental data are presented in Table 1.
Eo was found applying the Hayes et al. [18] model at the
maximum level of indentation, this model requires the
maximum indentation force, depth of indenter penetration,
radius of the indenter, Poisson ratio and the scaling factor of
Hayes et al. After 1.5s of relaxation, Eo was recalculated
applying the relaxation response of the elastic modulus (see Eq.
11). The scaling factor of Hayes et al. ( ) requires the ratio
between the indenter diameter and cartilage thickness to be
computed [18]. Finally, experimental data of indentation force
and time and equations 13 and 14 were used to compute the
relaxation time ( r ).
Fig. 4: Comparison between model fitting and experimental
indentation force for specimen 1.

The Poisson ratio was taken as 0.45, considering the

cartilage as an incompressible material [16-17].

RESULTS
The two models show a good fit to the experimental data of
each specimen with mean values of correlation to the loading
curve of 0.996, 0.983 in relaxation and 0.993 unloading. The
correlation values obtained for all specimens in the loading-
relaxation-unloading curve are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Results of correlation analysis

Correlation factor (R)
Specimen
Loading Relaxation Unloading
1 0.998 0.999 0.994
2 0.998 0.978 0.997 Fig. 5: Comparison between model fitting and experimental
3 0.999 0.997 0.999 indentation force for specimen 3.
4 0.998 0.986 0.991
5 0.993 0.962 0.999
6 0.996 0.981 0.992
7 0.991 0.983 0.983

4 Copyright 2011 by ASME

 specimens. The correlation values obtained with these models
are similar to those obtained by Garcia and Cortes [7, 8] with
the viscous-matrix model and the nonlinear biphasic
viscohyperelastic model for articular cartilage but in an
unconfined compression test.
It is important to note that in some cases at the end of the
unloading curve, the model represented by the Eq. 13 deviate of
the experimental curve; this can be attributed to the fact that this
model considers a constant velocity for unloading, which at the
end of the experimental curve does not, because the recovery
over time of the material reduced the velocity slowly to zero,
thus the model for the unloading curve must be reconsidered to
take into account this effect.
Moreover, analyzing the parameters obtained in Table 1,
the relaxation time parameter seems to be a constant for the test
material, mainly for loading/unloading where it presented a
mean of -1.31 (SD 0.001), while in relaxation it was 10.36 (SD
2.68).
Finally, these models could be used to represent the
Fig. 6: Comparison between model fitting and experimental indentation force of other viscoelastic tissues and also to study
indentation force for specimen 5. the mechanical response of osteoarthritic cartilage to several
dynamics and geometrics test conditions.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Equations 13 and 14 represent non-linear viscoelastic NOMENCLATURE
models to determine the indentation force as a function of time
in tests using a plane-ended cylindrical indenter. These models a Radius of the indenter
combine the geometric parameters of the indentation test like E Elastic modulus
the indenter diameter and the thickness layer with the depth of Eo Initial elastic modulus
penetration and the velocity of the indentation test. (t) Strain
Moreover, these models consider the variation of the elastic
s Spring strain
modulus over time due to the viscoelastic behavior that was
taken into account with the Maxwell model as a first d Dashpot strain
approximation. Also, they are based on the Hayes et al. model Dashpot viscosity
[18] and consider the relation between the elastic modulus and J Creep compliance
creep compliance obtained with the viscoelastic constitutive Scaling factor of Hayes et al.
equations. These models were compared with experimental Poisson ratio
values of indentation tests on cartilage specimens of knees with Depth of indenter penetration
unicompartimental osteoarthritis due to cartilage is considered P Applied load
as a nonlinear viscoelastic material [24, 25], which can be SD Standard deviation
observed from the curves of experimental indentation test (Fig. (t) Stress
2). In a similar way, the models could be used and adjusted for
indentation test results of different materials that exhibit a t Time
viscoelastic behavior as others soft tissues in the human body. r Relaxation time
Otherwise, the applied deformations in the experimental V Indentation velocity
test are about 50% in some cases, which imply the use of the W Depth of indenter penetration in Laplace space
large deformations theory; however, the models obtained in this
study were developed from the Hayes et al. model [18] which ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
was obtained in the context of small-strain. In this work, the
large strain capacity of the models was explored to predict the This work was carried out with support from The National
reaction indentation force when we apply large strain values as Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), the Mexican
it was done in the experimental indentation tests on Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Biomechanics Laboratory
osteoarthritic cartilage. Graphic comparisons as well as the of the Technological Institute of Celaya (ITC) and the
correlation analysis showed that despite the applied large strain, Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of
the models are useful to predict the experimental values of Guanajuato (UG).
indentation force having a good correlation in the studied

5 Copyright 2011 by ASME

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