ABSTRACT
A new method for the simulation of the mass distribution of cancellous bone is presented on the basis of finite element analysis (FEA). In this method,the process of bone remodelling is considered as a process of the topology optimization of a corresponding continuum structure. Fabric tensor is used to express the microstructure and the constitutive properties of cancellous bone. The effective volume fraction or the relative density of a point in the design domain is expressed by the invariables of the fabric tensor. A reference strain interval, which is corresponding to the strain dead zone of a bone in biomechanics, is applied to detect the the final topology of the structure. By the present approach, several numerical results are given, i. e., the simulation on the shape of the coronal plane of vertebrae, the predictions of the mass distributions of the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional proximal femurs. The validity and feasibility of this new method are verified by the comparison between the results of the present work and those in the published literatures.