Speaker
Description
Computer modelling is applied to a wide range of engineering applications to predict the outcome of a physical system. In bioengineering, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and computer modelling can be placed side by side to fabricate tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds and to study their behaviour under certain circumstances (e.g., the effect of shape, size, and porosity on mechanical properties of a TE scaffold under given loads).
This work aimed to prepare an efficient numerical tool for designing bone TE scaffolds. The behaviour of scaffold structures was studied by varying the pore size and the degree of porosity (pores of diameter between 500 µm and 2 mm, in a range between 60% to 80% of porosity, with uniform and gradient porosities). To find a reliable model, the results of FE analysis were validated against the experimental data.
All designed porous structures were fabricated with stereolithography (SLA) using elastic photo-curable resin to make the validation process much more efficient. SLA technique has been chosen since it produces extremely accurate and high-resolution prototypes with high speed and fine features.
Fabricated specimens were subjected to morphometrical analysis using micro-CT, then mechanically tested with compression (uniaxial and biaxial) tests. FEA simulations were carried out assuming that all fabricated porous structures are made of material with hyperelastic properties.
The results showed good agreement between the experimental tests and the simulations. Much effort was put toward studying functionally graded (FG) structures (i.e., structures showing gradients of porosity along at least one material direction) since they offer limitless opportunities to tailor functional and structural properties. From the design point of view, a model has been developed that correlates the internal architecture with the final physical properties of the FG structure.
The obtained data are a starting point for future works. With optimization algorithms, the aim is to obtain the best material to tailor specific mechanical properties (e.g., to maximize bone scaffolds' load-bearing and energy storage properties).
52354559848
