The elastic and ultimate properties of compact bone tissue

The use of a tranversely isotropic model is tested for the elastic behavior of bovine and human bone and the five independent constants of this model are determined. The accuracy of the model is tested for eight cases by comparing the off-axis modulus predicted by a rotation of stiffness matrix with an experimentally determined off-axis modulus. Ultimate properties are presented for bovine and human bone for tension, compression, and torsional loads. A Hankinson type failure criterion is proposed for off-axis ultimate stress and this predicted value compared with experimental values for nine cases.