The objective of this study is to establish a methodology to identify the dynamic properties of soft tissues. Nineteen in vitro impact tests are performed on human muscles at three average strain rates ranging from 136/s to 262/s. Muscle tissues are compressed uniaxially up to 50% strain level. Subsequently, finite element simulations replicating the experimental conditions are executed using the PAM-CRASHTM, explicit finite element solver. The material properties of the muscles, modelled as linear isotropic viscoelastic material, are identified using inverse finite element mapping of test data using Taguchi methods. Engineering stress - engineering strain curves from experimental data and finite element models are computed and compared during identification of material properties at the above mentioned strain rates. Response of finite element models, with extracted material properties, falls within experimental corridors indicating the validation of the methodology adopted.

         Impact Gun test set-up, launcher is not shown in the picture    (Karthikeyan B et al., 2006)

1. Karthikeyan B, Mukherjee S, Chawla A, Malhotra R, Inverse Finite Element Characterization of Soft Tissues Using Impact Experiments and Taguchi Methods, Transactions Journal of Passenger Cars – Mechanical Systems, SAE 2006, SAE paper No 2006-01-252.

2. Karthikeyan B, Chawla A and Mukherjee S, Inverse finite element characterization of soft tissues using genetic algorithm, Journal of Biomechanics, Vol 39, Suppl 1, 2006, P-S491.

3. A. Chawla , S. Mukherjee, R Marathe, B Karthikeyan, R Malhotra, Determination of Strain rate dependence of human body soft tissue properties using a SHPB accepted for IRCOBI 2006.

4. Chawla A, Mukherjee S and Karthikeyan B, Characterization of human passive muscles for impact loads using genetic algorithm and inverse finite element methods, Biomechanics and modelling in mechanobiology, Volume 9, Issue 1, page 67-76.

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