Biomechanics

Fundamentals of solid mechanics (stress, strain, constitutive formulations); Principles of statics; Analysis of the mechanical behaviour of joints in the human body; Viscoelasticity of soft tissue; Microstructure of bone; Fatigue and fracture of bone; Bone remodelling; Structure of muscle; Biomechanics of muscle contractility; Biomechanics of the cardiac cycle; Windkessel model for pressure in compliant vessels; Newtonian flow in elastic vessels; Non-newtonian flow of blood; Unsteady Bernoulli's equation and the mechanics of heart value closure; Biomechanics of atherosclerosis and the effect of lesions on blood flow; Cellular cytoskeletal structures and mechanotransduction; Plasticity and cardiovascular stent analysis.

Learning Outcomes
1. Derive the Windkessel model to relate vessel compliance to aortic blood pressure.
2. Calculate the compliance of a porcine aorta.
3. Analyse the flow conditions required for the efficient closure of heart valves.
4. Explain the conditions required for non-Newtonian flow of blood in the vasclature. Derive an equation for non-Newtonian blood flow.
5. Derive equations for fracture and fatigue failure of bone. Calculate the fracture toughness of bone.
6. Explain the Hill equation for muscle contractility. Derive the sliding-filament muscle contractility model.
7. Determine the stress state of a metal at yield and analyse the performance of a cardiovascular stent