Experimental and FEM Compact Tension Test for Fracture Behaviour of 3D-Printed Hydroxiapatite

This abstract was presented as an oral presentation at the 30th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB), held on July 6th–9th, 2025, in Zürich, Switzerland, a congress focused on advances in biomechanics and musculoskeletal research.

The study investigates the fracture behaviour of miniaturized 3D-printed hydroxyapatite (HA) material using a combined experimental and finite element modelling (FEM) approach through Compact Tension testing. While experimental testing alone is limited in capturing local displacement fields and stress concentrations at crack initiation, FEM enables a more comprehensive analysis of fracture mechanisms. Importantly, this approach enables the calculation of the critical energy release rate (Gc), providing key fracture parameters required to build fracture predictive fracture models for personalized ceramic scaffolds. This work is developed within the ReBone project, which aims to enable next-generation ceramic implants through advanced material characterization and predictive modelling for tailored bone substitutes.