Post Yield Behaviour of Bovine Trabecular Bone and Bone Analogous Materials under Compression

INTRODUCTION Metallic foams have been favoured for orthopaedic research and testing purposes for its open-celled, interconnected structure with adjustable densities but without the highly variable and inhomogeneous nature of trabecular bones. Mechanical behaviour of metallic foams has been investigated in numerous studies, although how their properties compare with those of trabecular bones is largely unknown, particularly in the post-yield region. In this study, three metallic foams and bovine trabecular bones were characterized using finite element modeling and mechanical testing. It is hoped that the results of the present study may be useful in the selection of the bone analogue materials as trabecular bone substitutes.