• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.136-140
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• 2012

This paper describes the bone healing process of fractured long bones such as a tibia applied by composite IM rods using finite element analysis. To simulated tissue differentiation process mechano-regulation theory with a deviatoric strain was implemented and a user's subroutine programmed by a Python code for an iterative calculation was used. To broadly find the appropriate rod modulus for healing bone fractures, composite IM rods were analyzed considering the stacking sequence. To compare mechanical stimulation at fracture gap, two kinds of initial loading conditions were applied. As a result, it was found that the initial loading condition was the most sensitive factor for the healing performance. In case a composite IM rod made of a plain weave carbon fiber/epoxy (WSN3k) had a stacking sequence of $[{\pm}45]_{nT}$, the healing efficiency was the most effective under a initial load of 10%BW.