Effects of microcracks on the poroelastic behaviors of a single osteon

It has been suggested that microcracks do play a key role in the triggering of the bone remodeling process. In order to evaluate the influence of microcracks on the poroelastic behaviors of an osteon, a finite element model is established and investigated by using the Comsol Multiphysics software. The findings show that the presence of a microcrack in the osteon wall strongly modifies (enlarges) its local fluid pressure and velocity. Especially, the pressure and velocity amplitudes produced in the microcracked region are larger than those of the non-cracked region. Thus, this study can also be used for proposing a likely mechanism that bone can sense the changes of surrounding mechanical environments.