A Microscopic model for a cell‐seeded material

Klinik fur Orthopadie und Unfallchirurgie, Uniklinik AachenThe aim of the present paper is to account for the growth of fiber which is observed in a cell-seeded material stimulated ina bioreactor. For this purpose, the change of mass is considered in the balance laws, and the deformation energy is assumedto be a function of varying mass and the Helmholtz free-energy. Fiber growth at the microscopic level causes a macroscopicchange of the material’s mechanical properties. The study is a first approach towards a micromechanical model accountingfor remodelling in cartilage replacement materials. In so doing, constitutive equations for renewable soft tissues are proposed.