Simulants and Soft Tissues Under Extreme Loading Conditions By

Recent developments in computer-integrated surgery and in tissue-engineered constructs necessitate advances in experimental and analytical techniques in characterizing properties of mechanically compliant materials such as gels and soft tissues, particularly for small sample volumes. One goal of such developments is to quantitatively predict and mimic tissue deformation due to high rate impact events typical of industrial accidents and ballistic insults. This aim requires advances in mechanical characterization to establish tools and design principles for tissue simulant materials that can recapitulate the mechanical responses of hydrated soft tissues under dynamic contact-loading conditions. Given this motivation, this thesis studies the mechanical properties of compliant synthetic materials developed for tissue scaffold applications and of soft tissues, via modifying an established contact based technique for accurate, small scale characterization under fully hydrated conditions, and addresses some of the challenges in the implementation of this method. Two different engineered material system