Contribution of Mineral Crystals to the Bulk Behavior of Human Cortical Bone in Compression

In this study, human cortical bone was tested in compression to determine the in situ behavior of mineral crystals using a synergistic approach combining a progressive loading scheme and synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques. By quantifying the orientation distribution of mineral crystals, the average strain tensor of each subset of mineral crystals in the same orientation was determined based on its lattice deformation in three distinct crystallographic directions. The stress tensor of the crystals was determined based on the Hooke’s law using the stiffness tensor well derived in the literature (1). By examining the concurrent changes in the in situ and bulk behaviors, the contribution of mineral crystals to the bulk behavior of bone was discussed.