A novel study of temperature effects on the viscoelastic behavior of articular cartilage

This paper presents a new approach to study the effects of temperature on the poroelastic and viscoelastic behavior of articular cartilage. Biphasic solid-fluid mixture theory is applied to study the poro-mechancial behavior of articular cartilage in a fully saturated state. The balance of linear momentum, mass, and energy are considered to describe deformation of the solid skeleton, pore fluid pressure, and temperature distribution in the mixture. The mechanical model assumes both linear elastic and viscoelastic isotropic materials, infinitesimal strain theory, and a time-dependent response. The influence of temperature on the mixture behavior is modeled through temperature dependent mass density and volumetric thermal strain. The fluid flow through the porous medium is described by the Darcy’s law. The stress-strain relation for time-dependent viscoelastic deformation in the solid skeleton is described using the generalized Maxwell model. A verification example is presented to illustrate accuracy and efficiency of the developed finite element model. The influence of temperature is studied through examining the behavior of articular cartilage for confined and unconfined boundary conditions. Furthermore, articular cartilage under partial loading condition is modeled to investigate the deformation, pore fluid pressure, and temperature dissipation processes. The results suggest significant impacts of temperature on both poroelastic and viscoelastic behavior of articular cartilage.