Chapter 7

Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone

as a Function of Loading Rate

C. Allan Gunnarsson, Brett Sanborn, Mark Foster, Paul Moy, and Tusit Weerasooriya

Abstract During injury causing events such as impact, blunt trauma, penetration or blast, the human body is subjected to
high rate loading. These events will deform and damage human tissue, frequently causing tearing in soft tissues and
cracking/fracture in hard tissue (bone) due to the inherent brittleness of bone. For the development of accurate fracture
models for computer simulation of bone fracture and also to understand the failure mechanisms of hard tissues during blast
and impact events, it is necessary to investigate the failure behavior (fracture) of hard tissues at different loading rates,
including high loading rates. In this study, the Mode I fracture behavior of cortical bone from the human femur, perpendicu-
lar to the long axis, is investigated as a function of loading rate, including dynamic loading rates which are accomplished
with a modified Kolsky bar. The bone fracture specimens were extracted from three different human donors, ages 36, 50, and
43. For all three donors, the fracture toughness increases as loading rate increases from quasi-static to intermediate. As
loading rate increases from intermediate to dynamic rates, the initiation fracture toughness decreased on average, while
remaining higher than at quasi-static rate. The observed variations in initiation fracture toughness with donor age for each
loading rate did not show any specific trends. The initiation fracture toughness of cortical bone is dependent on the path of
the crack relative to the internal bone structure.

7.1 Introduction

A material’s fracture toughness represents the resistance to crack propagation of the material and must be accurately
determined to allow for prediction of failure initiation from defects in the material. ASTM Standard C 1421-10 [1] specifies
the standardized procedure to determine the initiation fracture toughness in opening mode (or Mode I), of advanced ceramic
materials at quasi-static loading rates. In this standard, pre-cracked beam specimens are loaded in three or four-point bending
configurations. The pre-crack can be a straight-through crack, a semi-elliptical crack, or a Chevron notch. Quasi-static
loading rates are specified in this standard to ensure that the peak load measurements correspond to the local fracture
toughness value at the crack tip.
There are no standard methods to determine the initiation fracture toughness at high loading rates. However, several
techniques to determine the fracture toughness at high loading rates have been proposed over the past several decades, which
can be categorized into three groups: high rate bending, high rate tension, and dynamic wedging. These techniques have
attempted to extend the quasi-static ASTM standard procedure into the dynamic loading range through various approaches,
resulting in a series of high rate bending techniques of pre-cracked beams [2–9]. In these experiments, the dynamic loading
was applied using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), a drop weight tower, or a modified Charpy tester. Most
of these methods used the quasi-static relationships from [1] to relate far-field peak load to the initiation fracture toughness at
the crack tip. Two conditions are necessary for valid high loading rate initiation fracture toughness experiments: the
specimen must be in a state of dynamic equilibrium, and the loading rate must be constant so the data can be used for
material studies. To accomplish these conditions for dynamic experiments, the input loading pulse is shaped to allow the
specimen to reach a state of dynamic equilibrium while loading is applied at a constant rate [9–15]. Pulse shaping also

C.A. Gunnarsson (*) • B. Sanborn • M. Foster • P. Moy • T. Weerasooriya

Weapons and Materials Directorate, Army Research Laboratory
e-mail: carey.a.gunnarsson.civ@mail.com

V. Chalivendra et al. (eds.), Dynamic Behavior of Materials, Volume 1: Proceedings of the 2012 Annual Conference 45
on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series,
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-4238-7_7, # The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2013
46 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

removes high frequency components of the loading pulse, preventing them from exciting resonance in the specimen which
could cause the specimen to lose contact with the supports.
In SHPB experiments on low mechanical impedance specimens, such as pre-cracked beams, the incident and reflected
pulses are typically close in magnitude, making dynamic equilibrium difficult to verify using traditional resistive strain gage
analysis. Direct measurement of axial forces on both sides of the specimen during SHPB experiments is possible using
quartz crystal force transducers, as reported by Chen et al. [11] for soft materials. This allows a direct verification that the
specimen is in dynamic equilibrium. Weerasooriya et al. [12] developed a high loading rate four-point bending initiation
fracture toughness experimental method, utilizing a modified SHPB with embedded quartz force transducers and pulse
shaping to precisely control the loading input pulse. The high loading rate fracture toughness technique was used to measure
the dynamic initiation fracture toughness of brittle materials such as ceramics (SiC) [12] and glassy polymers (PMMA) [13].
The method has been further extended to study the fracture behavior, such as fracture in an aluminum-epoxy interface by
Syn et al. [14], and fracture in adhesive bond interfaces by Weerasooriya et al. [15]. Embedded quartz transducers are
susceptible to errors caused by acceleration of the mass of the loading fixture between the specimen and quartz transducer.
Such inertia effects are correctable, as noted by Casem et al. [16, 17].
There are many previous studies on the fracture behavior of cortical bone at lower loading rates [18]. There have been few
studies conducted to understand the fracture behavior of animal cortical bone at high loading rates. Tanabe et al. [19] studied
the dynamic fracture toughness of bovine cortical bone across the range of 10
4–106 MPa*m1/2 s
1 and found that the
initiation fracture toughness is dependent on the specimen orientation with respect to the bone axis (0 and 90 ) as well as the
loading rate. Adharapurapu et al. [20] investigated the dynamic fracture toughness of bovine cortical bone (both dry and re-
wetted) using a three point bend technique, with fracture toughness rates of 10
2–105 MPa*m1/2 s
1. The fracture toughness
decreased with loading rate for dried bones (air dried for 15 or more days). For re-wetted bone, Adharapurapu et al. found
that the fracture toughness increased as the loading rate increased from quasi-static to intermediate rate, but at high loading
rates, the fracture toughness is lower than the quasi-static rate. A study by Currey [21] concluded that the effect of drying and
re-wetting on the mechanical properties of bone is minimal. Kulin et al. [22] also investigated the fracture toughness of
equine cortical bone up to dynamic loading rates using four-point bend techniques, although the dynamic fracture toughness
rate was not given in this study. The fracture toughness was found to decrease from quasi-static to dynamic loading rates.
Kulin et al. also found that the equine cortical bone fracture toughness decreases at quasi-static loading rate as the donor age
increased. However, at the dynamic loading rate, no measurable age effect was found on the fracture toughness. These
studies were focused on the dynamic fracture toughness of animal cortical bone.
The authors of this study are not aware of any prior studies on the dynamic fracture toughness of cortical bone at high
loading rates from human donors. In this study, the high loading rate initiation fracture toughness experimental method
utilized to measure the dynamic fracture toughness of brittle materials [10] was further developed to investigate the initiation
fracture toughness of human femoral cortical bone from three donors, normal to the osteon micro-structure axis (normal to
length axis of the femur). The focus of this study was on the effect of high loading rates on the initiation fracture toughness of
human cortical bone. These high loading rates are experienced when a human is exposed to blast and ballistic impact.
A modified SHPB was used to conduct high loading rate four point bend experiments on human cortical bone. Quartz
transducers embedded in the SHPB were used to make direct force measurements at the specimen-bar interface, allowing
the verification of dynamic equilibrium and the presence of a constant loading rate. High speed imaging was performed on
the experiments to allow for analysis of crack propagation path and effect on loading rate. The imaging was also used to
measure the full strain field at the crack tip, to correlate the strain field with fracture behavior, the results of which will
be reported in a later publication.

7.2 Human Cortical Bone Structure

Bones in the human body, such as the leg bones (femur, tibia, fibula) and arm bones (humerus, ulna, radius), are comprised of
two types of bone materials: a hard, brittle outer shell material that provides stiffness and load bearing capacity, known as
cortical bone, and a soft, spongy inner material mostly containing blood vessels and marrow, known as cancellous or
trabecular bone. In this study, the failure behavior of the cortical bone is investigated. Cortical bone is complex and
anisotropic, as shown in Fig. 7.1. The cortical bone sub-structure consists of osteons, cylindrical structures comprised of
concentric lamella sheets. The axes of osteons are aligned parallel to the bone axis. These osteons are on the order of
100–200 mm in diameter and a few millimeters long. Each lamella is further comprised of ever-smaller length scale
components. The center of the osteon is hollow, and is known as the Haversian or osteonic canal, through which run
blood vessels and nerves. Gaps between these osteons are occupied by interstitial lamellae. Interstitial lamellae are parts of
7 Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone as a Function of Loading Rate 47

Fig. 7.1 Cortical bone

sub-structure details [18]

former osteons that are broken down as the bone rebuilds itself with new osteons and are relatively weak. This remodeling
process has a large influence on the mechanical properties of bone. A detailed illustration of the bone hierarchical
substructure is shown in Fig. 7.1 [18].
Due to the anisotropic nature of cortical bone, the material properties are dependent on the orientation of the loading
relative to the bone structure. In this study, the fracture behavior of cortical bone is investigated in the plane normal to the
axis of the bone and the osteons. Based on the thickness of cortical bone in the human body, techniques have not yet been
developed to extract specimens long enough to study the fracture behavior parallel to the osteon axis. Methods to perform
high loading rate fracture experiments on these small specimens also are yet to be developed. The fracture toughness along
the osteon axis would be at least an order of magnitude smaller than normal to the osteon axis, as the crack would follow the
weaker osteon boundaries.

7.3 Specimen Fabrication

Six human lower extremities (legs) were obtained from three separate cadaveric donors. The three donors were all male and
middle-aged (36–50 years old). The femurs were extracted from the donors; the upper leg was disarticulated, and the soft
tissues (skin, muscle, etc.) were dissected and disposed of. Once most of the soft tissue was removed and the full femur was
exposed, strips running along the axis of the bone were cut from the four sides: anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral. Each
of these strips was long enough to make four or five femoral bend specimens. These individual specimens were then sanded
to obtain dimensions of 3 mm thickness (B), 4 mm width (W), and approximately 50 mm long. The specimens were notched
at the center; the notch length was set to be nominally 1.9 mm, and the thickness of the notch was approximately 200 mm.
Once fabricated, the specimens were refrigerated in individual containers in a buffered saline solution (Hank’s balanced salt
solution, or HBSS) to prevent any mineral loss during storage. The nominal specimen dimensions and loading geometry are
shown in Fig. 7.2 (dimensions are in mm).

7.4 Experimental Setup

To determine the loading rate effect on the fracture toughness of human cortical bone, four-point bending experiments on
pre-cracked (notched) beam specimens were conducted at quasi-static, intermediate, and dynamic loading rates. The bone
specimens were removed from wet storage and tested immediately. Approximately 9–11 experiments were conducted at
each loading rate for each donor. These were randomized among locations around the femur, locations along the femur,
48 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

50

10
P/2 P/2

0.1
P/2 1.9 P/2 ∅ 2.4 TYP X4
20

All dimensions are mm. Thickness is 3 mm. Notch Thickness (0.1 mm) is not drawn to scale

Fig. 7.2 Specimen dimensions and loading geometry

Fig. 7.3 (a) SHPB system layout (b) experimental setup with specimen

and among the two different femurs from each donor. For the dynamic loading rate experiments, an aluminum SHPB was
used with specially designed loading fixtures. The bars had a diameter of 31.75 mm (1.25 in.) and a length of 3.7 m (12 ft).
For the dynamic experiments, the input pulse was shaped to ensure dynamic equilibrium and a constant loading rate on the
specimen. The bar end velocity for the incident bar was approximately 550 mm/s after this pulse shaping was
implemented.
To ensure that the specimen is in dynamic equilibrium, the force histories on both sides of the specimen were measured
using quartz transducers embedded near the specimen/input-bar and specimen/transmitted-bar interfaces. These embedded
quartz transducers provided high signal with little noise for the low loads inherent in experiments on low impedance
material. The modified SHPB experimental setup with quartz transducers is shown in Fig. 7.3a. The loading fixtures on
each bar consisted of two steel pins, with a center to center distance of 10 mm (incident fixture) and 20 mm (transmission
fixture). This loading geometry replicates one of the loading configurations in the quasi-static ASTM standard [1], and was
also used in the quasi-static and intermediate experiments. These customized force transducers were calibrated through
separate calibration experiments using mating fixtures to allow the input stress pulse to pass through to the transmission
bar. An input pulse was sent through the bars and the transducer. The transducer output was calibrated to the stress
measured in the SHPB by traditional bar strain gages. Figure 7.3b shows a picture of the experimental setup with specimen
just prior to testing.
Typical data from a dynamic experiment is shown in Figs. 7.4 and 7.5. Figure 7.4a, shows strain gage signals from the
incident and transmission bar. As expected, there is no signal from the transmission bar strain gage, as the transmitted signal
is too weak to be measured by traditional resistive gages. Although not shown here, a set of semi-conductor strain gages
(which are about 100 times more sensitive than resistive strain gages) mounted on the transmission bar were able to record
7 Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone as a Function of Loading Rate 49

Fig. 7.4 (a) Typical incident and transmission bar strain gage signals (b) incident bar-end velocity profile

Fig. 7.5 (a) Acceleration of the incident bar end and corresponding quartz fixture inertial force and (b) typical incident and transmission quartz
transducer signals

the transmission bar stress history, and provided an independent verification of the loading history. Figure 7.4b shows the
velocity profile at the incident bar-end after the incident and reflected pulse strain data have been time resolved and summed
using Eq. 7.1:

vINC BAR END ðtÞ ¼ c0 ½eI ðtÞ
eR ðtÞ (7.1)

where c0 is the wave speed of the bar material, eI(t) and eR(t) are the incident and reflected strain histories, respectively.
Once the incident bar-end velocity profile is known, the data is smoothed and differentiated to obtain acceleration of the
bar-end, and therefore acceleration of the incident quartz transducer (Fig. 7.5a). By knowing the mass of the loading fixture
(which for this setup was 22.2 g), the incident quartz transducer signal can be corrected to remove the apparent force caused
by inertia of the transducer during acceleration, a technique documented by Casem et al. [16, 17]. Figure 7.5b shows typical
load histories during a dynamic experiment recorded by the incident quartz transducer and the transmission quartz
transducer. Figure 7.5b also shows the apparent load at the incident interface caused by transducer inertia. Note that after
removal of the apparent load from the incident transducer, the load histories at both sides of the specimen were nearly the
50 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

same, demonstrating a state of dynamic equilibrium for the specimen. Additionally, the loading profile has a nearly linear
slope, demonstrating a constant loading rate for the experiment which is a necessary criterion for dynamic experiments.
When the specimen is in dynamic equilibrium, the ASTM standard for quasi-static experiments can be used to relate the
loading history of the specimen to the fracture toughness. From [1], Sect. A2.4, Eqs. A2.5 and A2.6, for four-point flexure of
a pre-cracked beam specimen, with a crack length to height ratio [a/W] between 0.35–0.60:
" #2 1
3

6 
Pmax ðS0
S1 Þ10 4
3½ a 2
5
K IPB ¼f 3
W
3
(7.2)
BW 2 2½1
Wa 2

with:
n    2 o a   a 
a 3:49
0:68 Wa þ 1:35 Wa W 1
W
f ¼ 1:9887
1:326
n  2 o (7.3)
W 1þ a W

pffiffiffiffi
where KIPB (MPa m) is the fracture toughness of a brittle four-point pre-cracked bending beam specimen, Pmax is the
measured peak axial force (N) by the transmission quartz transducer, B is the specimen width (m) and W the specimen height
(m), a is the notch (or crack) length (m), S0 is the distance between the two supporting points on the notch side of the
specimen (m), and S1 is the distance between the two loading points on the loading side of the specimen (m).
For the quasi-static and intermediate loading rates, an Instron test machine was used with an integrated load cell for
measurement of specimen loading history. The test machine was used in displacement control, at rates of 0.00051 and
0.51 mm/s for the quasi-static and intermediate rate experiments, respectively.

7.5 Experimental Results and Discussion

For all of the experiments, the long dimension of the specimen is parallel to the axis of the bone (and the axis of the osteons
in the sub-structure) and is normal to the pre-crack. After initiation of crack propagation from the pre-crack, the crack
propagation direction was dependent on the loading rate. Deflection of the crack propagation from the pre-crack axis is due
to the sub-structural morphology, which provides toughening mechanisms in the transverse direction of the bone.

7.5.1 Quasi-static Experiments

At the quasi-static loading rate, the bone specimens did not fail completely. The load on the specimen increased at a constant
rate, reached the peak load and started to decrease. The experiment was stopped some arbitrary time after the peak load.
Image analysis of the quasi-static experiments indicated that the crack begins to open up to the point of peak load, and after
peak load it propagates along the specimen in a direction almost parallel to the osteon axis (Fig. 7.6). However, the specimen
does not fail suddenly during the crack propagation, retaining a degree of load capacity, as shown by a typical quasi-static
load history with corresponding images as shown in Fig. 7.7.

7.5.2 Intermediate Rate Experiments

From the intermediate rate experiments, two failure behaviors were observed in the loading history, as shown in Fig. 7.8. The
blue data shows abrupt specimen failure as the crack immediately propagated after maximum load (corresponding to
Fig. 7.9a and f). The red data in Fig. 7.8 (corresponding to Fig. 7.9b, c, d, and f) showed stable crack propagation with
reduced load capacity in the specimen after maximum load was reached; then, after some time, abrupt failure. At the
intermediate rate, the crack propagation after initiation was more varied than the quasi-static experiments. Figure 7.9 shows
a random sample of six intermediate rate experiments after failure, along with the fracture toughness value. The crack path is
7 Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone as a Function of Loading Rate 51

Fig. 7.6 Typical crack propagation of cortical bone specimens in four point bending for quasi-static experiments

Fig. 7.7 Loading history for quasi-static experiment

illustrated in red for the pictures difficult to view. Most of the intermediate rate experiments (Fig. 7.9a–c, e, and f) had crack
propagation along a tortuous path across the specimen, changing directions (sometimes several times). A minority of the
intermediate experiments (Fig. 7.9d) had crack propagation at 45 from the pre-crack; these experiments had lower fracture
toughness. Generally, when the crack propagation was more parallel to the pre-crack and included changes in direction, the
fracture toughness was higher.
52 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

Fig. 7.8 Typical load histories of specimens at intermediate rate

Fig. 7.9 (a–f) Typical crack paths and fracture toughness values of cortical bone specimens for intermediate rate
7 Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone as a Function of Loading Rate 53

Fig. 7.10 (a–f) Typical crack paths and fracture toughness values of cortical bone specimens for dynamic experiments

7.5.3 High Rate Experiments

At high loading rates, the specimen load increased linearly with abrupt failure occurring at the peak load. The dynamic
experimental results were more scattered compared to the quasi-static and intermediate rates. A typical loading history for a
dynamic experiment is shown in Fig. 7.5b. Figure 7.10a–f shows crack propagation in six randomly selected dynamic
experiments. The crack path has been roughly illustrated in red to make viewing easier.
The fracture toughness of the bone varied depending on the path of crack propagation. Most of the dynamic experiments
had crack propagation in a straight line at an angle of approximately 45 from the corner of the pre-crack, shown in
Fig. 7.10a, b, d, and e. This 45 crack propagation corresponded to lower initiation fracture toughness than the minority of
dynamic experiments that had crack propagation in a general direction across the specimen (Fig. 7.10c and f). Note from the
figure that the crack propagation in b and e are more parallel to the pre-crack (approximately 30 ) than in a and d
(approximately 45 ) and have higher fracture toughness. The crack propagations in Fig. 7.11c and f are generally parallel
to the pre-crack and have higher fracture toughness than any of a, b, d, and e. Figure 7.11c showed more changes in vertical
direction (zigzagging) than f, resulting in the highest fracture toughness of these six experiments.
One possible mechanism causing this behavior involves relative osteon strength. The 45 crack propagation specimens may
have had stronger osteons that forced the crack to propagate along the weak cement lines (osteon boundaries). The specimens
with crack propagation across the specimen might have had weaker osteons, allowing individual osteons to fail in bending
mode. This would seem counter-intuitive that the specimens with stronger osteons had lower initiation fracture toughness.
Further research is needed to relate bone chemistry (mineral composition) and micro-structure to the fracture toughness.

7.5.4 Effect of Loading Rate on Fracture Toughness for Three Donors

Figure 7.11 shows the initiation fracture toughness of human cortical bone, normal to the osteon axis, as a function of
fracture toughness rate for all specimens from the three donors. Figure 7.12a shows the average fracture toughness for each
donor, as well as the overall average of all three donors, at each rate with error bars representing  one standard deviation
(s). The initiation fracture toughness increases as the fracture toughness rate increases from quasi-static to intermediate
54 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

Fig. 7.11 Fracture toughness of cortical bone (perpendicular to osteon axis) for individual donors

Fig. 7.12 Fracture toughness of cortical bone (perpendicular to osteon axis) as a function of rate for (a) individual and overall averages as and (b)
overall averages for this study (human) and Adharapurapu et al. (Bovine – wet) [20]

rate for all three donors. From intermediate to dynamic rates, the average initiation fracture toughness showed a decrease for
two of the donors (donor 1, 36 years and donor 2, 50 years), but was higher than the quasi-static rate. For donor 3 (43 years),
the fracture toughness increased slightly with the increase in loading rate from intermediate to dynamic. The overall average
fracture toughness increased from quasi-static to intermediate and then decreased at high rate, but remained higher than the
quasi-static. In general, the decrease of fracture toughness at high rate from intermediate rate is less than the observed
increase from quasi-static to intermediate rate.
These trends are due to the path the crack takes during propagation, discussed with Figs. 7.9 and 7.10. At the quasi-static
rate, crack initiation and growth is predominantly in the direction of the osteon axis, along osteon boundaries (cement lines),
which is the weakest direction. This is reflected in the lower fracture toughness values for the quasi-static rate. For the
intermediate rate, macroscopic failure generally progresses across the specimen, frequently changing direction. Some
intermediate rate experiments had failure progress in a single direction, approximately 45 from the osteon axis, and
these had lower fracture toughness values. This zigzag behavior indicates that the crack was crossing weaker osteons and
then being redirected by stronger osteons. At high loading rates, macroscopic fracture typically followed a path 45 to the
osteon axis; some experiments fractured across the specimen and had higher fracture toughness.
7 Initiation Fracture Toughness of Human Cortical Bone as a Function of Loading Rate 55

Fig. 7.13 Fracture toughness

of cortical bone
(perpendicular to osteon axis)
averaged for individual
loading rates and overall
average as a function of age

Figure 7.12b shows the fracture toughness data averaged across all three human donors as a function of loading rate. For
comparative purposes, the figure also includes the averaged results from Adharapurapu et al. [20], showing the fracture
toughness dependency of wet bovine cortical bone (normal to the osteon axis) as a function of loading rate. The data scatter
was not reported. Adharapurapu et al. air dried all specimens for 15 or more days, creating “dry” bone. The “wet” bone was
then stored in HBSS for 30 or more hours prior to testing to re-wet the specimens. The “wet” bone is more comparable to the
bone experiments in this study (where the specimens were stored in HBSS) than the “dry” bone. The rate effect on the
fracture toughness of equine cortical bone from Kulin et al. [22] was not included for comparison as the fracture toughness
rates were not directly reported.
For bovine cortical bone, as well as human cortical bone, the intermediate rate fracture toughness was the highest. The
high rate fracture toughness decreased significantly from the intermediate fracture toughness for the bovine cortical bone
whereas the human cortical bone decreased slightly. The bovine high rate fracture toughness was lower than the quasi-static
fracture toughness, by about half, which was consistent with the equine results in Kulin et al. The human cortical bone, by
contrast, has dynamic fracture toughness higher than the quasi-static fracture toughness.

7.5.5 Effect of Age on Fracture Toughness at Different Loading Rates

Initiation fracture toughness values as a function of fracture toughness rate and grouped by donor (and therefore age) are
shown in Fig. 7.11. There do not appear to be any significant age effects on the measured fracture toughness over the limited
age range. The fracture toughness measurements from all three donors are in the same general range at each of the three
loading rates. However, when averaged across all three loading rates, as shown in Fig. 7.13 (green data), a slight trend is
observed; the initiation fracture toughness increases as age increases over this limited age range. However, when broken
down into the separate loading rates in Fig. 7.13, it can be seen that there are no common trends. The quasi-static data
increases directly with age; the intermediate data decreases with age first, then increases; and the dynamic data displays the
opposite trend, increasing with age at first and then decreasing with age. These three donors have many unknown
environmental variables (such as diet, general fitness and health, exercise history, genetics, etc.) that make age related
conclusions difficult. Due to this variability, and the lack of any consistency in age dependence for the different loading
rates, no age effects are concluded.

7.6 Conclusions

An existing experimental technique has been further developed to study the Mode I fracture behavior and to determine the
fracture toughness for brittle bio-materials. This experimental method is based on a modified split-Hopkinson pressure bar,
with embedded high sensitivity piezoelectric quartz transducers, using the quasi-static fracture toughness ASTM standard
56 C.A. Gunnarsson et al.

for advanced ceramic materials (C1421-10). Precise control of the loading pulse profile ensures dynamic equilibrium in the
specimen and a nearly constant loading rate, thus relating the fracture toughness at the crack tip to the far-field peak loading
through quasi-static relations. These experimental methods were used to study the fracture behavior of human cortical bone,
normal to the bone (and osteon) axis, from human femurs. Fracture experiments were conducted at quasi-static to dynamic
loading rates to demonstrate the rate dependency of the fracture toughness of human cortical bone. The initiation fracture
toughness was highest at the intermediate loading rate. The initiation fracture toughness increased as the fracture toughness
rate increased from quasi-static to intermediate. From intermediate to dynamic rates, the initiation fracture toughness
showed a decrease in two out of the three donors but remained above quasi-static values. The fracture toughness appears to
be dependent on the path of crack propagation; the more parallel to the pre-crack the propagation was, the higher the fracture
toughness. Changes in direction along the bone axis as the crack propagated across indicated a higher initiation fracture
toughness. No conclusive trends were determined relating donor age and bone fracture toughness. Future work is needed to
determine what bone toughening mechanisms are involved and how bone chemistry and micro-structure affect the fracture
toughness rate dependency.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge Mr. Jeff Gair of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for
assistance in the specimen fabrication process and Mr. Ronn Wade and his team at the Maryland State Anatomy Board (MSAB) for assistance in
procuring the cadaveric donors for this study.

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