Computational homogenization of histological microstructures in human prostate tissue: Heterogeneity, anisotropy and tension‐compression asymmetry

Abstract

Human prostatic tissue exhibits complex mechanical behaviour due to its multiphasic, heterogeneous nature, with hierarchical microstructures involving epithelial compartments, acinar lumens and stromal tissue all interconnected in complex networks. This study aims to establish a computational homogenization framework for quantifying the mechanical behaviour of prostate tissue, considering its multiphasic heterogeneous microstructures and the mechanical characteristics of tissue constituents. Representative tissue microstructure models were reconstructed from high‐resolution histology images. Parametric studies on the mechanical properties of the tissue constituents, particularly the fibre‐reinforced hyper‐elasticity of the stromal tissue, were carried out to investigate their effects on the apparent tissue properties. These were then benchmarked against the experimental data reported in literature. Results showed significant anisotropy, both structural and mechanical, and tension‐compression asymmetry of the apparent behaviours of the prostatic tissue. Strong correlation with the key microstructural indices such as area fractions of tissue constituents and the tissue fabric tensor was also observed. The correlation between the stromal tissue orientation and the principal directions of the apparent properties suggested an essential role of stromal tissue in determining the directions of anisotropy and the compression‐tension asymmetry characteristics in normal human prostatic tissue. This work presented a homogenization and histology‐based computational approach to characterize the apparent mechanical behaviours of human prostatic or other similar glandular tissues, with the ultimate aim of assessing how pathological conditions (e.g., prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia) could affect the tissue mechanical properties in a future study.

Integrating Experimental and Computational Analyses for Mechanical Characterization of Titanium Carbide/Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites

“…Simulating the deformation and damage evolution of the composite with this microstructure model provides its mechanical behavior under tensile loading. The application of Abaqus in this microstructural modeling process [21][22][23][24][25] ensures the accurate representation and alignment of the reinforcement particles, paving the way for the reliable investigation into the influence of the microstructural variations on the overall mechanical response of the composite material. Table 2 provides the essential material parameters for both the TiC particles and the Al matrix.…”