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Title: Flaw-insensitive fatigue resistance of chemically fixed collagenous soft tissues
Bovine pericardium (BP) has been used as leaflets of prosthetic heart valves. The leaflets are sutured on metallic stents and can survive 400 million flaps (~10-year life span), unaffected by the suture holes. This flaw-insensitive fatigue resistance is unmatched by synthetic leaflets. We show that the endurance strength of BP under cyclic stretch is insensitive to cuts as long as 1 centimeter, about two orders of magnitude longer than that of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The flaw-insensitive fatigue resistance of BP results from the high strength of collagen fibers and soft matrix between them. When BP is stretched, the soft matrix enables a collagen fiber to transmit tension over a long length. The energy in the long length dissipates when the fiber breaks. We demonstrate that a BP leaflet greatly outperforms a TPU leaflet. It is hoped that these findings will aid the development of soft materials for flaw-insensitive fatigue resistance.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2011754
PAR ID:
10500618
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Science
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Science Advances
Volume:
9
Issue:
9
ISSN:
2375-2548
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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