Stress-Softening and Residual Strain Effects in Suture Materials

• Published in: Advances in materials science and engineering Vol. 2013; no. 2013; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Martínez-Romero, Oscar, Siller, Héctor R., Rodríguez, Ciro A., Díaz-Elizondo, José A., Flores-Villalba, Eduardo, Ortega-Lara, Wendy, Elias-Zuniga, Alex, Montoya, Beatriz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 01-01-2013; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; Hindawi Limited
• ISSN: 1687-8434; 1687-8442
• DOI: 10.1155/2013/249512

This work focuses on the experimental characterization of suture material samples of MonoPlus, Monosyn, polyglycolic acid, polydioxanone 2–0, polydioxanone 4–0, poly(glycolide-co-epsilon-caprolactone), nylon, and polypropylene when subjected to cyclic loading and unloading conditions. It is found that all tested suture materials exhibit stress-softening and residual strain effects related to the microstructural material damage upon deformation from the natural, undistorted state of the virgin suture material. To predict experimental observations, a new constitutive material model that takes into account stress-softening and residual strain effects is developed. The basis of this model is the inclusion of a phenomenological nonmonotonous softening function that depends on the strain intensity between loading and unloading cycles. The theory is illustrated by modifying the non-Gaussian average-stretch, full-network model to capture stress-softening and residual strains by using pseudoelasticity concepts. It is shown that results obtained from theoretical simulations compare well with suture material experimental data.