Further Insight into the Depth-Dependent Microstructural Response of Cartilage to Compression Using a Channel Indentation Technique

Figure 11

A structural “triple point” is developed between the directly loaded region and the relief zone, and this feature arises from the confluence of three complex deformation fields. One boundary is formed in the directly loaded region between the upper more strain-limiting layer and its underlying matrix (see inset a-b) and defines the chevron shear boundary. The other boundary (c-b-d) separates the relief zone with its oblique shear band development from the upper and lower zones devoid of such oblique shear bands. This triple point highlights the discontinuities in the deformation field associated with the transition between directly and nondirectly loaded regions and across zonal depths. X, Y, and Z show in high magnification the three regions of interest.