A generalized mechanical model for suture interfaces of arbitrary geometry

Suture interfaces with a triangular wave form commonly found in nature have recently been shown to exhibit exceptional mechanical behavior, where geometric parameters such as amplitude, frequency, and hierarchy can be used to nonlinearly tailor and amplify mechanical properties. In this study, using the principle of complementary virtual work, we formulate a generalized, composite mechanical model for arbitrarily-shaped interdigitating suture interfaces in order to more broadly investigate the influence of wave-form geometry on load transmission, deformation mechanisms, anisotropy, and stiffness, strength, and toughness of the suture interface for tensile and shear loading conditions. The application of this suture interface model is exemplified for the case of the general trapezoidal wave-form. Expressions for the in-plane stiffness, strength and fracture toughness and failure mechanisms are derived as nonlinear functions of shape factor β (which characterizes the general trapezoidal shape as triangular, trapezoidal, rectangular or anti-trapezoidal), the wavelength/amplitude ratio, the interface width/wavelength ratio, and the stiffness and strength ratios of the skeletal/interfacial phases. These results provide guidelines for choosing and tailoring interface geometry to optimize the mechanical performance in resisting different loads. The presented model provides insights into the relation between the mechanical function and the morphological diversity of suture interface geometries observed in natural systems.

Research Highlights
► A general mechanical model for arbitrarily-shaped suture interfaces is formulated.
► Stiffness, strength, toughness and damage tolerance of wavy sutures are quantified.
► Triangular wave shows highest tensile and shear stiffness, strength and toughness.
► Anti-trapezoidal wave-form provides interlocking for flaw tolerance.
► Insights into the morphological diversity of biological interfaces are provided.