Mechanistic fracture criteria for the failure of human.pdfVIP

LETTERS Mechanistic fracture criteria for the failure of human cortical bone 1 2 1 R. K. NALLA , J. H. KINNEY AND R. O. RITCHIE* 1Materials Sciences Division,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,and Department of Materials Science and Engineering,University of California,Berkeley,California 94720,USA 2Department of Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences,University of California,San Francisco,California 94143,USA *e-mail:RORitchie@ Published online:9 February 2003; doi:10.1038/nmat832 mechanistic understanding of fracture in human bone is critical inclusions1,2. Ductile fracture, conversely, is strain-controlled, as in the to predicting fracture risk associated with age and disease. same steels at higher temperatures where the fracture process involves ADespite extensive work,a mechanistic framework for describing ductile tearing between such particles or inclusions (with a significant how the microstructure affects the failure of bone is lacking.Although increase in toughness)2. Bone fracture is widely regarded as strain- micromechanical models incorporating local failure criteria have been controlled; indeed, most theoretical descriptions of its mechanical developed for metallic and ceramic materials1,2, few such models exist behaviour assume this to be the case3. However, experimental evidence for biological materials. In fact, there is no proof to support the widely for this assertion has never been obtained. held belief that fracture in bone is locally strain-controlled3,4, as for To investigate this distinction,we have used a double-not