"Modeling of Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Nanofiber Network" by Xiaofan Wei, Zhenhai Xia et al.
 

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Title

Modeling of Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Nanofiber Network

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-5-2009

Abstract

Electrospun nanofibres are widely investigated as extra-cellular matrix for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. Little is understood on the deformation mechanics of spun fibre mats. A model is developed to predict the deformation behaviour of randomly-oriented electrospun nanofibre network/mats with the fibre-fibre fusion and van der Waals interaction. The nanofibres in the mat are represented by chains of beads; the interactions between the beads are described by bonded (stretch, bending and torsion) and non-bonded (van der Waals) potentials. Stress-strain curves and dynamics fracture are predicted by this model. The results show that the fibre-fibre fusion has a significant effect on the tensile strength of the mats. Increasing the number of fusion points in the mat results in an increase in strength, but over-fusion may lead to lower fracture energy. The predicted stress-strain relationships are consistent with the experimental results.

Publication Title

International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics

Volume

1

Issue

1

First Page

45

Last Page

57

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