Development and verification of a constitutive model for human periodontal ligament based on finite element analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a constitutive model for human periodontal ligament (PDL) by combining the hyperelastic and viscosity models. We performed the finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate the experimental processes of the PDL in vitro and in vivo tests to verify the developed model. The FEA results indicated that the simulative curves were consistent with the experimental curves in the PDL in vitro tests. Moreover, for the in vivo measurements, the simulative result of 0.6258 N was similar to the experimental value of 0.65 N. The study results can help orthodontists better understand the biomechanical characteristics of PDL.

Keywords:

• Orthodontics
• periodontal ligament
• constitutive model
• finite element analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. LQ20E050013], the Ningbo Municipal Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 2019A610243], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants No. 51775506], the General Research Project Foundation of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department [Grant No. Y201941138] and the Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project of Zhejiang Province, China [Grants Nos. LGG19E050022 and LGF18H140002].