Size-dependent and Tunable Mechanical Properties of Micro-and Nano- Sized Stochastic Fibrous Structres

Filamentous networks can be widely found in biomaterials at the microand nano-scales. Some conventional theories may not apply to the materials with dimension at the microor nano-scale. The effects of strain gradient at the micro-meter scale and the effects of surface elasticity and initial stresses/strains at the nano-scale are incorporated into the deformation mechanisms in the analysis of stochastic fibrous structures. A random beam network model with cross-linkers has been developed to describe the fibrous networks whose relative density can be controlled to different values by adjusting the concentration of cross-linkers. The size-dependent effects on the relationships between the relative density and the elastic constants of microand nano-sized fibrous structures are investigated.