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A quasi-brittle strain-driven microdamage-informed remodelling approach for predicting proximal human femur damage and remodelling patterns

Minku, Daria Scerrato, Alberto Bersani, Ivan Giorgio and Rachele Allena

Vol. 14 (2026), No. 2, 205–228
Abstract

The accumulation of microdamage renders bone tissues more vulnerable to excessive fatigue loading, which could potentially lead to fragility fractures. There is a need for an effective and noninvasive approach for predicting damage-prone regions. The literature lacks investigation into quasi-brittle damage-informed remodelling, which is hypothesized to accurately capture the damage state. The present study aims to formulate a strain-driven microdamage-informed remodelling framework to accurately depict the quasi-brittle nature of bone and to predict damage and adaptation state of a two-dimensional proximal human femur. Additionally, the potential of the proposed approach was assessed under the effects of the key remodelling parameters. Results imply that insufficient magnitude of remodelling, rapid stimulus diffusion, excessively fast remodelling, and inadequate diffusion coefficient promote substantial damage accumulation. The choice of adequate parameters reduces the femur fracture risk. The proposed model can serve clinicians as a predictor of likely femur fracture regions in elderly populations.

Keywords
bone adaptation, damage mechanics, quasi-brittle bone behavior, finite element analysis, human femur
Mathematical Subject Classification
Primary: 92C10
Milestones
Received: 29 October 2025
Accepted: 7 December 2025
Published: 19 March 2026

Communicated by Francesco dell'Isola
Authors
Minku
Laboratoire Jean Alexandre Dieudonne
UMR CNRS 7351
Université Côte d’Azur
Nice
France
Daria Scerrato
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Rome La Sapienza
Rome
Italy
International Research Center for the Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems
University of L’Aquila
Italy
Alberto Bersani
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Rome La Sapienza
Rome
Italy
International Research Center for the Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems
University of L’Aquila
Italy
Gruppo Nazionale per la Fisica Matematica
Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica
Italy
Ivan Giorgio
International Research Center for the Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems
and Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile-Architettura e Ambientale
University of L’Aquila
Italy
Gruppo Nazionale per la Fisica Matematica
Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica
Italy
Rachele Allena
Laboratoire Jean Alexandre Dieudonne
UMR CNRS 7351
Université Côte d’Azur
Nice
France
International Research Center for the Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems
University of L’Aquila
Italy
Institut Universitaire de France