Computational modelling of soft tissues and ligaments

This chapter presents a multiscale approach for the modeling of soft tissues and ligaments accounting for microstructural arrangement and nanoscale collagen nonlinearities. Computational and analytical homogenizations are developed and validated by comparison with available experimental results addressing tissues with a unidirectional (i.e., tendons) and a multidirectional (i.e., aortic walls) collagen fiber arrangement. The multiscale concept is also effective at analyzing the effects of physiopathological processes in biological tissues. Finally, an effective submodeling strategy is proposed to evaluate stress and strain localization mechanisms at the microscale (around and within cells), strongly affecting activation and evolution of mechanoregulated biological processes.