A Continuum Fibre Network Model for the Anisotropic and Compressible Mechanics of Human Skin

A Continuum Fibre Network model for excised human skin captures anisotropy, strain stiffening, and volume change, using a weak neo-Hookean matrix with shear modulus 0.1 MPa.

• Why it matters: Existing skin mechanics models can misestimate tensile stress when volume change is handled inconsistently, limiting reliable predictions across loading modes.
• What they did: The authors built a 3D fibre orientation distribution with a bilinear fibre tensile law plus a separate phenomenological volumetric potential, calibrating parameters from published uniaxial tensile and volume-change datasets.
• The result: Cross-sectional area changes alter tensile stress estimates for models that predict volume change, and the calibrated formulation yields indentation, shear, and biaxial tension simulations under additional loading.

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