Three-Dimensional Finite Volume Method of Triphasic Theory in Generalized Coordinates: Application to Human Intervertebral Disc During Compressive Stress Relaxation

The intervertebral disc is an avascular cartilaginous structure that plays an important role in supporting loads through the spine and providing flexibility to the spinal column. The triphasic theory [1,2] has been used successfully to describe many of the mechanical, chemical and electrical behaviors of cartilaginous tissues. As an example of applying the triphasic theory, Yao and Gu [3] conducted a finite element simulation of human intervertebral disc during compressive stress relaxation using commercial software (FEMLAB). Due to the limitation of the commercial software, in the simulation reported in [3], the computational grid (mesh) is fixed throughout the simulation and the mesh size was not optimized for the specific geometry of the disc.