Computation of full-field displacements in a scaffold implant using digital volume correlation and finite element analysis

Measurements of three-dimensional displacements in a scaffold implant under uniaxial compression have been obtained by two digital volume correlation (DVC) methods, and compared with those obtained from micro-finite element models. The DVC methods were based on two approaches, a local approach which registers independent small volumes and yields discontinuous displacement fields; and a global approach where the registration is performed on the whole volume of interest, leading to continuous displacement fields. A customised mini-compression device was used to perform in situ step-wise compression of the scaffold within a micro-computed tomography (μCT) chamber, and the data were collected at steps of interest. Displacement uncertainties, ranging from 0.006 to 0.02 voxel (i.e. 0.12-0.4 μm), with a strain uncertainty between 60 and 600 με, were obtained with a spatial resolution of 32 voxels using both approaches, although the global approach has lower systematic errors. Reduced displacement and strain uncertainties may be obtained using the global approach by increasing the element size; and using the local approach by increasing the number of intermediary sub-volumes. Good agreements between the results from the DVC measurements and the FE simulations were obtained in the primary loading direction as well as in the lateral directions. This study demonstrates that volumetric strain measurements can be obtained successfully using DVC, which may be a useful tool to investigate mechanical behaviour of porous implants.