Stiffness variability and stress-dependent elastic response of synthetic fibre-reinforced composites for biomedical applications

A major design requirement of biomaterial prostheses is to match their elastic properties with those of the natural host tissue. Composite materials address this requirement because their elastic properties can be altered accurately through composition and directionality parameters, and they can be designed to match closely the elastic properties of the biological tissues, in isocompliance, modulus gradient and anisotropy. This adds to a range of advantages of synthetic composite materials with respect to potential biomedical applications, which draw on their heterogeneity and anisotropy. This paper focuses on the elastic properties of synthetic fibre-reinforced composite materials that pertain to biomedical applications, and demonstrates the range of stiffnesses obtainable through selection of constituents and by choice of angle of reinforcement.