| Abstract Scope |
Under physiological conditions, fibrous soft tissues undergo large deformations, exhibiting strongly non-linear behavior as a result of fiber recruitment. In general, there are three approaches of modeling their elastic behavior, with increasing complexity. First, the homogenization approach, using anisotropic strain energy functions. Within the framework of hyperelasticity, this approach captures the nonlinearities yet not accounting for the detailed microstructure. Second, the full surface-to-surface coupling, with which fibers are modeled as solid elements. Exact solution, but prohibitively expensive for complex networks. We bridge these two approaches using the embedded element method. Even though not exact, it provides sufficient accuracy assuming the embedded fibers are order of magnitudes stiffer than the surrounding matrix. Using this method, we develop representative volume elements of synthetic microstructures, and evaluate their stiffness response. Finally, we compare our models with established homogenization approaches. By comparing these methods, we provide best practices guidelines for modeling fibrous soft tissues. |