Strain rate effect and inter-individual variability on mechanical behaviour of beef scapula bone samples

In the field of car safety, experiments undertaken in biomechanics aim at elaborating numerical models of each human body segment in order to better predict its behaviour when submitted to an impact. In recent studies, Delille (2007) and Autuori (2004) studied the bending behaviour of cranial bone under static loading. Both authors concluded that the inter-individual differences brought about an important dispersion within the results. Likewise, experimental conditions such as the strain rate and the different conservation methods of the bone are supposed to increase this dispersion. According to Crandall (1994), freezing and conservation in Winckler cause a deterioration of the mechanical properties. The goal of this work is to characterise cranial bone under different strain rates and to explain the variability of results. In the first step presented here, the experimental protocol was performed on beef scapula samples which show a sandwich structure similar to these of the cranial bone.