Fracture Mechanisms in Bovine Aorta

Rupture of vascular tissue in the circulatory system under non-impact loading is involved in potentially life threatening events such as Marfan’s syndrome or rupture of small renal veins during shock wave lithotripsy. The rupture mechanisms are not well-understood. The complexity of the artery wall precludes the use of rupture theories invented for metals or for fibered composites with a homogeneous matrix. Artery tissue is composed of ground material, smooth muscle cells, elastin and collagen. The collagen fibers, which are generally circumferentially oriented, are the load carrying material after large deformations. Clark and Glagov [1] propose that the media of an elastic artery is built of musculo-elastic fascicles made up of a layer of circumferentially oriented SMC that lie parallel and between two elastin lamellae. Between the elastin sheets of adjacent elements are interspersed collagen fiber bundles.