Fibrin fibers are the major structural components of blood clots. Determining the mechanical properties of these fibers will provide new insights into the wound healing process and advance our understanding of heart attacks and strokes. There has been considerable interest in determining the response of fibrin clots to mechanical stresses. Most of the investigations in the past have mainly focused on the bulk mechanical properties of whole fibrin clots.
This project is a preliminary feasibility study on the use of a gross model based on continuum mechanics to qualitatively model and simulate the behavior of individual fibrin fibers, for better understanding of their mechanical properties. The underlying theme of proposed research is design of novel computational models, simulation methods and software systems based on the "multi-scale" framework, i.e. describing geometry, numerics, and physical simulation across different scales. Given the high complexity of molecular structures at the nanoscale, this approach could potentially offer a robust and efficient solution that scales up to large-sized problems and perhaps adequately models the mutual interaction among multiple nano-entities in complex physical or biological systems.
To ensure the correctness of our proposed models and simulation methods, we will test and verify our approaches by comparing the simulation results with experimental data. This will provide timely feedback and allow rapid modification of our proposed models and simulation methods.
