Direct and inverse identification of constitutive parameters from the structure of soft tissues. Part 2: dispersed arrangement of collagen fibers

This paper investigates on the relationship between the arrangement of collagen fibers within soft tissues and parameters of constitutive models. Starting from numerical experiments based on biaxial loading conditions, the study addresses both the direct (from structure to mechanics) and the inverse (from mechanics to structure) problems, solved introducing optimization problems for model calibration and regression analysis. A campaign of parametric analyses is conducted in order to consider fibers distributions with different main orientation and angular dispersion. Different anisotropic constitutive models are employed, accounting for fibers dispersion either with a generalized structural approach or with an increasing number of strain energy terms. Benchmark data sets, toward which constitutive models are fitted, are built by employing a multiscale description of fiber nonlinearities and accounting for fibers dispersion with an angular integration method. Results show how the optimal values of constitutive parameters obtained from model calibration vary as a function of fibers arrangement and testing protocol. Moreover, the fitting capabilities of constitutive models are discussed. A novel strategy for model calibration is also proposed, in order to obtain a robust accuracy with respect to different loading conditions starting from a low number of mechanical tests. Furthermore, novel results useful for the inverse determination of the mean angle and the variance of fibers distribution are obtained. Therefore, the study contributes: to better design procedures for model calibration; to account for mechanical alterations due to remodeling mechanisms; and to gain structural information in a nondestructive way.