Learning Objectives

Stress and Strain By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
Define stress, strain, strength, and stiffness
Fundamentals of Identify the types of stress present in different loading
situations
Tissue Injury Relate the shape of a stress-strain graph to tissue
properties such as strength and stiffness, and identify
Readings: the elastic and plastic regions, yield point, and failure
Chapter 2 [course text] point
Describe how viscoelasticity changes the shape of a
load-deformation curve during tissue loading and
Nordin & Frankel, Chapter 1 [on reserve] unloading
Hall, Chapter 4 [on reserve] Discuss how the rate and amount of tissue loading
1 affects the likelihood of injury 2

Stress Stress
The way in which an external force is applied
Stress () can be thought of as normalized affects the type of stress created:
force.
Force applied Force applied
Stress represents the internal forces in an perpendicular to surface parallel to surface
object in response to external forces.
Stress is affected by the applied force and
by the geometry of the object.

=F The units of stress are

N/m2 or Pascals (Pa).
A
3 4
Compression Tension Shear

1
 Stress Stress Bending
Example: Axial compression of the spine pushes the
vertebrae together. Because the intervertebral discs are
essentially incompressible, this causes the disks to bulge Applying forces to an object in opposite
radially and axially. The axial deformation of the disks puts directions causes bending.
pressure on the vertebrae and causes an inward deformation
of the vertebral end plates.
Tension

Compression

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Stress Bending Stress Bending

Example: Applying opposing forces with a brace creates
bending stresses in the spine, which can help correct spine
abnormalities.

Example:
Bending of the
femur causes
patterns of
compression
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and tension. [Koch, 1917, Am J Anat]

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Stress Torsion Stress torsion
Twisting an object by applying a torque/moment Example: Spiral fractures of bones are caused
causes torsion. by excessive torsion of the bone.
Neutral axis

Shear
Spiral fracture
of humerus

9 [Photo: Wikimedia Commons, RSJThompson] 11

Stress Strain Stress strength

The maximum stress that a material can
withstand before failure is called strength.
Force/Area
Strength is
different for Ultimate stress
for cortical bone
compression,
Same units as tension, and
shear stresses.
pressure

13
[Text, Fig. 2-15]

3
 Strain LoadDeformation curves
Plotting the load (force) applied to a material
Strain () can be thought of as normalized against its resulting deformation (change in
deformation. length) gives a loaddeformation curve.
Strain represents the change in length of an
object in response to external forces. Elastic
region failure point
Strain is the ratio of the change in length of Load
or yield point
an object and its original length.
force Slope =
(F) F stiffness (k)
= L Because strain is a
Plastic
ratio, it is unitless. L
L region
15
16 Deformation, change in length, or displacement (L)

StressStrain curves Stiffness and Elastic modulus

Plotting the normalized load (stress) applied to a
material against its normalized deformation (strain) Stiffness (k) is the slope of a k= F
gives a stressstrain curve. loaddeformation curve: L
strength
Elastic failure point Elastic modulus is the slope
region yield point of a stressstrain curve.
Stress
Slope = elastic When the curve plots tensile
( = F / A)
modulus or stress versus tensile strain,
Youngs modulus the elastic modulus is called E=
Plastic (E)
Youngs modulus (E):
region
18
17 Strain (= L / L)

4
 Material Properties Comparing materials
Aspects of a stressstrain curve describe Different materials have different material properties.
the material an object is made out of, and strength
are size-independent. fiberglass
Flexible, steel Stiff,
Examples: Strong Strong
iron
strength
yield strength
elastic modulus or Youngs modulus silk gold elastic
modulus
spider web
Material Youngs modulus Tensile strength copper
bone
Tendon 2 x 109 1 x 108 oak
Bone 1.7 x 1010 1.8 x 108 Flexible, glass Stiff,
lead
Carbon steel 2x 1011 3 x 109 19 Weak Weak 20

Comparing Materials Sample Questions

The shape of a stressstrain curve is 1. In a fall a ligament has 2500 N of tensile force exerted
on it. If the cross-sectional area of the ligament is 2 cm2,
affected by material properties.
what is the tensile stress on the ligament?
=F/A = (2500 N) / (2 cm2) = 1250 N/cm2
Metal (ductile)
2. If the force rises to 3000 N and 10% of the collagen
Stress Glass (brittle) fibers fail (break), what would the new tensile stress be?
() =F/A = (3000 N) / (2 cm2 0.1(2 cm2))
= (2500 N) / (1.8 cm2) = 1667 N/cm2
3. What may happen to the ligament in this situation?
Bone Relate your answer to the stress strain curve for human
ligament tissue. increased stress causes increased strain and
moves the ligament closer to its failure point. Also enters plastic region;
21 unable to return to original state.
Strain () 22

5
Sample stressstrain curve for a ligament Viscoelasticity
Viscosity is the resistance of a fluid to shear
stress.
Viscosity is due to internal friction between molecules.
d
Viscosity can be though of as the thickness of a fluid.

You should be able Because human tissues have fluid in them, they
c to label the points have a viscous response in addition to their elastic
and regions which response.
we discussed.
a b This combination of viscous and elastic responses
is termed viscoelasticity.
23 26

Viscosity Viscoelasticity
Viscoelasticity causes the strain rate to depend
on the speed of loading.
Example: Viscoelastic characteristics of human
bone.

Fast loading
Fracture
Load
(F)
Fracture
Slow loading

27 28
Deformation (L)

6
 Viscoelasticity Viscoelasticity
Viscoelasticity causes energy to be lost due to Hysteresis loops for different materials:
heat.
9000 Wooden
bat
Aluminum
7250 bat
) Golf
m
or Force Baseball
ef Hysteresis loop ball
(d rn) (N) 4500
Load ad tu (shaded area)
(F) Lo (re represents lost
o ad 2750
nl energy (heat).
U
0

Deformation (L) 29
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0
Displacement (cm) 30

Viscoelasticity Thixotropy Musculoskeletal Injury

Some materials become less viscous (more
runny) when they are agitated (shaken).
Examples: cytoplasm, synovial fluid, ketchup
This is one reason that warming up before an
athletic event increases flexibility.
Deformation of tissue reduces its stress-
bearing capacity.
This is especially true for ligaments, tendons,
muscles, and nerves.
Cartilage and bones are injured infrequently in
occupational settings but more frequently in sports
due to impacts and falls

The fundamental relation between mechanical

energy and injury highlights biomechanics as the
logical discipline to study the causes and effects of
human musculoskeletal injury.
31 32
[Whiting & Zernicke,
1998]

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Cumulative Loading Cumulative Loading
Injury can be caused by: Acute The area under a force versus
time curve is impulse (Ft).
High loads applied over a short period of time
(acute injury; low cumulative load) This represents the cumulative
loading of the tissue.
Low loads applied over a long period of time Load
(chronic injury; high cumulative load) or
force Chronic
It is difficult to assess the effect of cumulative
loading given adequate recovery time, Failure
even high cumulative loads may be safe.

33 Failure Time 34

Cumulative Loading Acute versus Chronic Injuries

Acute
trauma

Load
or
force Injury threshold

Tolerance Chronic
repetitive injury

Repetition 35

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Tissue Conditioning Tissue Conditioning
If you have too much movement or exercise,
One theory [Kumar, 1999] predicts that
tissues can be injured due to overuse.
overexertion (injury) depends on:
If you have too little movement or exercise,
force tissues can be injured due to poor conditioning.
exposure time
range of motion Repetition
Movement range
. Risk of Force
injury Physical activity
Sitting
Standing
...
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too little too much

Tissue Conditioning Tissue Conditioning

Loading tissues increases anabolism
(building up of tissue) and decreases
catabolism (breaking down of tissue).
Use it or lose it!
Example: Disuse can result in a loss of bone
mass at a rate of 1.5% per month.
All parts of the body which have a function, if used in
moderation and exercised in labours to which each are
accustomed, thereby become healthy and well-developed:
but if unused and left idle, they become liable to disease,
defective in growth, and age quickly.
This is especially the case with joints
and ligaments, if one does not use
them.
[Hippocrates, 460-377 BC]
[from LeVay 1990, p30.]

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