Influence of viscoelasticity of protein on the toughness of bone

Bone is an ultrafine composite of protein (collagen) and mineral (hydroxyapatite). An analysis to determine the influence of the viscoelasticity of protein on the toughness of bone at the ultrafine scale is conducted by developing a discrete lattice model appropriate for the ultrafine scale called the incremental continuous damage random fuse model (ICDRFM). Collagen viscoelasticity at ultrafine scale is shown to contribute significantly to the toughness of bone. The results obtained are important in the design of biomimetic ultratough artificial composites.