Re-examination of the mechanical anisotropy of porcine thoracic aorta by uniaxial tensile tests

OBJECTIVE: Considering past studies on the orthotropic anisotropy of arteries in the circumferential and axial directions, this work aims to experimentally study the anisotropic behaviour of arteries by tensioning multi-directional strips of porcine thoracic aorta. METHODS: Histology is first analyzed by staining arterial sections of three orthotropic (axial, circumferential, and radial) planes. 168 stripped samples from 21 aortas are categorized into three loading-rate groups to investigate the influence of loading rates on the Young’s modulus and ultimate stress. Basing on the Young’s modulus and ultimate stress, the degree of anisotropy is calculated. Moreover, 24 stripped samples from 3 aortas are tested to study the relaxation anisotropy of arteries by fitting the experimental data with a five-parameter Maxwell reduced relaxation function. RESULTS: Histological analysis shows the parallel orientation of crimpled collagen and elastin fibres. The Young’s modulus and ultimate stress reach the greatest in the circumferential direction, and the smallest in the axial direction, respectively, and the values in the other directions are in-between; moreover, the two parameters monotonously increase as the samples orientate from the axial to circumferential directions. The Young’s modulus is more sensitive to the loading rate than the ultimate stress. The degree of anisotropy calculated by the Young's modulus is similar to that by the ultimate stress, and it is independent of loading rates. Stress-relaxation also exhibits anisotropy, whose variation is consistent with those of the two parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the stress-growth rule, fibre preferably orientates in the circumferential direction, and the preferable orientation results in great mechanical parameters, anisotropy, and small relaxation behaviour of arteries. The work extends the studies on the arterial anisotropy instead of only the circumferential and axial directions, and could be useful to comprehensively understand the anisotropy of arteries.