An elastic compound tube model for a single osteon

A model is developed whereby the secondary osteon—the dominant microstructural component of the cortical bone tissue—is considered as an n-layered cylinder with internal stresses in linear isotropic elasticity. An exact solution is obtained for a loading condition represented by a tensile-compressive force. The lengthening, the side deformation, and the strain energy of the system are explicitly calculated. The behavior of the main elastic quantities is illustrated by graphs. In particular, the important role played by the parity of the number of lamellae is revealed.