Meeting Abstract
Muscles exist in confined spaces, packed in between organs, muscles, bones, and skin. Due to this, any bulging that a muscle undergoes will result in a load on that muscle or another muscle. Experimental work has shown that muscles produce less force when contraction simultaneously. Further experimental work has shown that transverse load on a muscle can lead to a reduction in force production when either unidirectional or multidirectional loading is applied. Our aim is to replicate such loading experiments using a muscle model to probe the mechanisms behind this effect. Here we use a three-dimensional finite element model of muscle based on the mechanics of fibre-reinforced composite biomaterials. The model represents both the passive and active fibre force-length properties, as well as base material properties that include the non-fibre elements such as extracellular matrix, connective tissues, blood vessels, and nerves. The model is written in C++ built on the deal.II finite element library. The model allows the testing of unidirectional and multidirectional loading from transverse directions on various pennate and parallel muscles and the quantification of the resulting changes in muscle architecture and stress. Simulated compressions demonstrate the changes in the muscle force when transverse load is applied, and show that this is a multifactorial phenomenon dependent on both loading conditions and internal architecture.
