A comparison of Young's modulus for normal and diseased human eardrums at high strain rates Online publication date: Fri, 30-Jan-2009
by Huiyang Luo, Hongbing Lu, Chenkai Dai, Rong Zhu Gan
International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics (IJECB), Vol. 1, No. 1, 2009
Abstract: The viscoelastic properties of a human eardrum or tympanic membrane (TM) have not been fully characterised in the auditory frequency range, despite the fact that these properties are critical data as input in modelling the acoustic transmission in a human ear. In this paper using a miniature split Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB), we investigated the mechanical behaviour of TM at high strain rates, corresponding approximately to the behaviour at high frequency. The Young's modulus values of diseased human TMs are determined as 63.4-79.2 MPa in the radial direction, and 33.1-42.8 MPa in the circumferential direction at strain rates 300-2000 s−1, results are compared with those for normal TMs. The comparison indicates that normal human TMs show stronger dependence on high strain rates. The measured Young's modulus is converted into complex Young's modulus in the frequency domain in the frequency range of 300-2000 Hz.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics (IJECB):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook