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Optimization of the Mechanical Properties of PVA/Gelatin Hydrogel Reinforced with Polycaprolactone Nanofibers Using the Finite Element Method

Authors :

Mohadeseh Nazouri¹ Iman Zoljanahi Oskui² Hadi Taghizadeh³

1- دانشگاه صنعتی سهند تبریز 2- دانشگاه صنعتی سهند تبریز 3- دانشگاه صنعتی سهند تبریز

Keywords :

Articular cartilage،hydrogel،hyper-viscoelastic،finite element

Abstract :

Damage to articular cartilage poses a significant clinical challenge due to its limited self-repair capacity. This study addresses the mechanical inadequacy of hydrogels for load-bearing applications by developing a composite scaffold. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofiber-reinforced polyvinyl alcohol/gelatin (PVA/Gelatin) hydrogels were fabricated and mechanically characterized. An inverse finite element (FE) analysis coupled with an optimization algorithm was employed to calibrate an anisotropic Holzapfel hyper-viscoelastic constitutive model against experimental stress-relaxation data. The optimized material parameters, including those for fiber reinforcement and matrix properties, were successfully identified. The FE model demonstrated excellent predictive capability for the scaffold's mechanical response. The results confirm that PCL nanofiber reinforcement effectively tailors the hyper-viscoelastic properties of the PVA/Gelatin hydrogel, making it a highly promising scaffold candidate for articular cartilage repair.