Electromechanical Effects of Bone Remodeling Based on Edge Smoothed Finite Element Method / 医用生物力学

ABSTRACT

Objective Aiming at solving the problem of poor accuracy for numerical solution of traditional finite element method (FEM) in numerical analysis on piezoelectric effects of bone remodelling, a model with an edge-based smoothed FEM (ES-FEM) was proposed. Methods The bone model was discretized by triangular elements, and the smoothing domain was constructed based on edges of the existing mesh element. Based on gradient smoothing technique, the smoothed strain gradient and the smoothed electric field gradient were obtained, and the discrete equations of the system were constructed under the framework of smoothed Galerkin weakform. Results The changes of bone mineral density (BMD) and the distributions of electric potential under piezoelectric effects in the process of bone remodelling were reflected by using the above model. Compared with FEM, ES-FEM could improve the accuracy of simulation result for bone remodelling to a certain extent. Conclusions The proposed ES-FEM can simulate the process of bone remodelling more accurately. The accurate prediction for piezoelectric effect of bone reconstruction by this method provides an effective theoretical basis for clinical research of bone diseases.