Experimentally validated structural finite element method analysis of a tibial intramedullary nail: Optimal choice of the contact settings.

This article focuses on the static structural analysis of a tibial intramedullary nail, carried out by the finite element method. The investigated subject is concerned with the issue of frictional contacts that, generating a non-linear problem, play an important role in numerical analyses. Experimental tests were also developed on tibial intramedullary nail specimens. The experimental results, in terms of force-displacement, were used to calibrate and validate the finite element analysis, by tuning the contact parameters available in the software.