Modal analysis of Humerus bone using CAE tools

Abstract Biomechanics deals with the study of mechanical aspects of biological objects. Humerus is the bone present in human hand which extends from the shoulder joint up to the elbow joint. The main reason behind this study is to examine the changes in the modal frequency of humerus bone for different materials. In this study we apply different loads on the humerus bone fixing the proximal (upper end) and applying 850 N load on the distal side (lower end) and note down the Modal frequencies for different materials. From this we get to know about the Modal frequency at which the bone fails. Model is prepared using ITK-Snap software. MSC Patran software is used for preprocessing and post processing whereas MSC Nastran is used as solver. Analysis is carried out for three different materials, natural bone, AZ31 and CP-Ti. It is found that 0.095 Hz–0.451 Hz is the modal frequency of natural bone. Modal frequency of AZ31 is 0.184 Hz–0.871 Hz and Modal frequency of CPTi is 0.29 Hz–1.36 Hz. These modal frequencies do not exceed the natural frequency of the bone materials. As far as Bone implants are concerned, AZ31 is best and this will be absorbed by the body and no further surgery is required. The stress and displacement are comparatively minimum for this material and it is lighter in weight as compared to CP-Ti. The manufacturing cost is also minimal.