Computational modal analysis of a composite pelvic bone: convergence and validation studies

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to describe the structural density and geometry of the bone, as well as its sensitivity to the resolution of finite element discretisation. The study introduces a novel way to validate biomechanical model of the bone by experimental modal analysis. The structural density and geometry of the model was obtained from a composite bone. A detailed investigation of the weight dependence of the bone on the mesh resolution was performed to obtain the best match with the real weight of the tested bone. The computational model was compared with the experimental results obtained from the modal analysis. The overall changes of the modal properties and bone weight in the model caused by different mesh resolutions and order of approximation were below 10%, despite the bone was modelled with simple isotropic material properties. The experimental modal analysis shows a great potential to be a robust verification tool of computational biomechanical models because it provides boundary conditions–free results. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the linear approximation of the density field is not suitable for the modelling of the modal response of composite bone.

Keywords:

• Modal analysis
• pelvic bone
• finite element
• structural density
• bone weight
• sensitivity

Acknowledgement

We thank the anonymous reviewer for the critical review of the manuscript and for suggesting improvements. This publication was written at the Technical University of Liberec, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with the support of the Institutional Endowment for the Long Term Conceptual Development of Research Institutes, as provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in the year 2017.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest.