Stress Stabilisation Behaviours in Skin Under Small Tensile Loads In Vitro

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wan Abas, W.A.B.^;

Affiliations: Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Note: [] Requests for reprints should be addressed to W.A.B. Wan Abas, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract: The response of human skin to “stress relaxation” tests at low loads in vitro was investigated. A number of behaviours, other than those already well established and documented, were observed. The significant behaviours are pure recovery and relaxation-recovery. Other behaviours observed are temporary stress recovery during the relaxation process, and momentary sudden non-linear drop in stress value followed by a second relaxation. The pure recovery and relaxation-recovery responses are repeatable. The latter represents the transitional response between the well-known behaviour of stress relaxation and the behaviour of stress recovery.

Keywords: skin in vitro, uniaxial loads, time dependency, stress relaxation, stress recovery

DOI: 10.3233/BME-1995-5202

Journal: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 59-63, 1995