Evaluation of the development of tissue phenotypes: Bone fracture healing using functionally graded material composite bone plates

Long bone fractures are conventionally treated using metallic implants that may be accompanied by complications such as stress shielding, corrosion, poor fatigue life, and loosening. Flexible fixations by reducing the structural stiffness of prostheses or using low modulus materials are promising alternatives to overcome these problems. In this study, different configurations of bone plates developed from functionally graded material (FGM) composites were considered to investigate the effect of bending stiffness on bone fracture healing while maintaining an equivalent bone plate modulus. The healing performance and development of tissue phenotypes were estimated using mechano-regulation theory with deviatoric strain, which was implemented and analyzed with the commercial software ABAQUS 6.10 and a user’s subroutine program. The most effective configuration of FGM layers was proposed based on the healing performance.