Abstract

Attachment of dissimilar materials can result in high levels of localized stress at their interfaces, which can predispose a structure to failure. The stress concentrations at such interfaces are well characterized for linear elasticity. However, extending this understanding to nonlinear materials is not straightforward. In biological materials, local stiffness may increase in response to elevated stress, and in metals, local stiffness may decrease; however, the effect of this is not well characterized for free edge singularities. The main goal of this research was therefore to investigate the effect of nonlinearity using numerical analysis, then to describe stress concentrations that arise at tendon-to-bone interfaces, and to assess how these concentrations change when one of the materials (here, tendon) stiffens with straining.

Committee Chair

Guy Genin

Committee Members

Matthew Bersi Vladimir Birman

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Author's Department

Materials Science & Engineering

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Summer 9-1-2023

Language

English (en)

Available for download on Monday, August 24, 2026

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