Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 17;10(1):15275.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-72186-1.

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of the pure "buckling" mechanism during blow-out trauma of the human orbit

Marcin Adam Zmuda Trzebiatowski  1 , Paweł Kłosowski  2 , Andrzej Skorek  3 , Krzysztof Żerdzicki  1 , Paweł Lemski  3 , Mateusz Koberda  4
Affiliations

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of the pure "buckling" mechanism during blow-out trauma of the human orbit

Marcin Adam Zmuda Trzebiatowski et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Considering the interplay between orbital bones and intraorbital soft tissues, commonly accepted patterns of the blow-out type of trauma within the human orbit require more thorough investigation to assess the minimal health-threatening impact value. Two different three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) models of the human orbital region were developed to simulate the pure "buckling" mechanism of orbital wall fracture in two variants: the model of orbital bone elements and the model of orbital bone, orbit and intraorbital tissue elements. The mechanical properties of the so-defined numerical skull fragment were applied to the model according to the unique laboratory tensile stress tests performed on small and fragile specimens of orbital bones as well as using the data available in the literature. The nonlinear transient analysis of the contact problem between bodies that differ substantially in terms of the Young's modulus was carried out to investigate the interaction of different bodies within an instant injury. Potential damage areas were found within the lower orbital wall as well as the destructive load values for both FEM skull models (7,660 N and 8,520 N). Moreover, numerical simulations were validated by comparing them with computed tomography scans of real injuries.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Function of the tensile stress—deformation of the laboratory test on exemplary orbital bone specimens (black) and the result of the linear approximation (red).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thickness distribution in the model: (a) orbital part (frontal view) and (b) remaining part of the skull with intraorbital entities (isometric view).
Figure 3
Figure 3
External load applied to the orbital lower rim—set of 6 nodal forces (red).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Time function of the load.
Figure 5
Figure 5
H–M–H stress (Pa) distribution within the analyzed thin shell skull part during the time t = 25 ms corresponding to the extremal value of the external load: (a) MOBE and (b) MOBOSE.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Displacements map (m) with the deformation for the vertical cross-section in the contact model including intraorbital soft tissues (t = 25 ms).
Figure 7
Figure 7
CT scan analysis and the impacting load assessment: (a) exemplary patient (male, 48) with substantial-scale fracture of the lower wall of the left orbit (red arrow) and (b) corresponding scale of the orbital damage for the time t = 21.5 ms in the MOBOSE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Clarke PRR. Fractures of the orbit: (Proceedings of the symposium on orbital fractures, 19–20 April, 1969, Amsterdam) J. Neurol. Sci. 1971;14:121.
    1. Jha K, Rajalakshmi A. Evaluation and management of orbital trauma. J. Clin. Ophthalmol. Res. 2018;6:77–82.
    1. Paluch J. Interdisciplinary surgical management of orbital and maxillo-ethmoidal complex disorders. In: Markowski J, editor. Clinical Management and Evolving Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Patients with Brain Tumors. London: IntechOpen; 2013. pp. 571–595.
    1. Weinzweig J, Taub PJ, Bartlett SP. Fractures of the orbit. In: Weinzweig J, editor. Plastic Surgery Secrets Plus. 2. Maryland Heights: Mosby; 2010. pp. 299–307.
    1. Bregstein J, Roskind CG, Sonnett FM. Emergency medicine. In: Polin RA, Ditmar MF, editors. Pediatric Secrets. 5. Maryland Heights: Mosby; 2011. pp. 154–196.

Publication types