Fracture of cortical bone tissue

In this chapter, mechanical behaviours of a unique type of composite material – cortical bone tissue – are considered for different length scales. Both experimental and computational approaches are discussed in this study to evaluate the effects of mechanical anisotropy and structural heterogeneity on the fracture process of cor-tical bone. First, variability and anisotropic mechanical behaviour of cortical bone tissue are characterised and analysed experimentally for different loading condi-tions and orientations. Then, results from the experimental studies are used to de-velop finite-element models across different length-scales to elucidate mechanical and structural mechanisms underpinning the anisotropic and non-linear fracture processes of cortical bone.