Anisotropy of Bone Lamellae

In this study, the anisotropic linear elastic properties of our skeleton´s basic construction unit - the bone lamellae - are calculated by using a finite element unit cell method. The model accounts for different fibril orientation patterns inside the lamellae. The stiffness results are used to evaluate the indentation modulus in arbitrary directions in the lamella plane. The obtained indentation moduli of the model are related to experimental indentation results. The predicted indentation moduli are generally close to the reported experimental results. However, lamellae consisting of the classical orthogonal- and twisted plywood patterns, do not comply with the measured stiffness differences between the longitudinal and circumferential direction. This study is a step towards a deeper understanding of the structure - mechanical function relationship of bone lamellae.