A Qualitative Stress Analysis of a Cross Section of the Trabecular Bone Tissue of a Distal Femur by Photoelasticity

In this work a qualitative analysis of the stress distribution of a cross section of the medial condyle of a human femur by photoelasticity is presented. A model of the cross section was obtained by plaster casting, carefully maintaining the internal architecture of the porous bone. Here the displacement and load curves reported at the ISO - 14243-1 are used. The load tests started from total extension at 0deg to a complete flexion at 56deg. The fringe patterns observed in the porous bone model showed that the maximum stress concentration is shifted from the surface to the interior of the bone, allowing the damping of external forces and diffused them towards the interior of the bone tissue, thus reducing the contact stresses at the surface of the knee joint.