Muscle and Tendon Tissues: Constitutive Modeling and Computational Issues

Abstract

A three-dimensional constitutive model for muscle and tendon tissues is developed. Muscle and tendon are considered as composite materials that consist of fibers and the connective tissues and biofluids surrounding the fibers. The model is nonlinear, rate dependent, and anisotropic due to the presence of the fibers. Both the active and passive behaviors of the muscle are considered. The muscle fiber stress depends on the strain (length), strain-rate (velocity), and the activation level of the muscle, whereas the tendon fiber exhibits only passive behavior and the stress depends only on the strain. Multiple fiber directions are modeled via superposition. A methodology for the numerical implementation of the constitutive model in a general-purpose finite element program is developed. The current scheme is used for either static or dynamic analyses. The model is validated by studying the extension of a squid tentacle during a strike to catch prey. The behavior of parallel-fibered and pennate muscles, as well as the human semitendinosus muscle, is studied.